Advertisement

Sweden's Prime Minister wants 'good solution' post-Brexit for mobile UK and EU citizens

The Local Sweden
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
Sweden's Prime Minister wants 'good solution' post-Brexit for mobile UK and EU citizens
Swedish PM Stefan Löfven. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven says he "regrets" the UK’s decision to leave the European Union but thinks it is is positive that negotiations can now finally begin after a "long waiting period".

Advertisement

In a statement following British PM Theresa May's triggering of Article 50 to formally initiate the process of the UK leaving the EU, Löfven said that Sweden wanted the negotiations to find a "good solution for EU citizens exercising their right to settle in the UK, and vice versa".

He also called for a financial solution where the UK "pays for the commitments it has made".

"In future relations between the EU and the UK we want trade relations to be as favourable as possible and effective cooperation in other areas, including security," Löfven's statement reads.

"The UK has been a close and valuable partner in the EU. We regret Britain's decision to leave the union, but it is good that the negotiation process can now begin after quite a long waiting period. I welcome the constructive approach in Prime Minister May’s letter. I want to see orderly and results-oriented negotiations, and that, even after the withdrawal, we have as positive and mutually beneficial a relationship with the UK as possible. That's important for the UK, for the EU, and for Sweden," Löfven also noted.

READ ALSO: UK and Sweden agree 'everybody should be able to stay' after Brexit

In February, Sweden’s EU affairs and trade minister Ann Linde told The Local that it is important that people who "used their rights as EU citizens don’t become a bargaining chip in the Brexit negotiations".

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also