'We want a deep partnership' Finland wants even CLOSER relationship with UK after Brexit
A Finnish Minister has said that he wants the close relationship between Britain and Finland to continue after Brexit. The UK will begin trade talks with the European Union in the new year, but fears have been raised that negotiations could be even tougher than the first phase.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk Finnish Deputy Foreign Minister Samuli Virtanen said Finland simply wanted to "cooperate" with Britain. He said: "For us the UK is a big trading partner, one of the biggest. .
"It is the strongest military power in Europe. We want to cooperate with the British on various levels.
Hopefully even deeper than we do now. "It's up to the British to decide which international organisations they want to belong to or don't want to belong to, that's not our decision. "We just want to cooperate with you." Mr Virtanen said progress in future negotiations needs flexibility from both sides by highlighted the strong partnership he wants the UK to have with Finland and the European Union after Brexit.
"The UK is a superb ally and a very important one," he said. We just want to cooperate with you Samuli Virtanen.
"As I said the UK is leaving the EU but we would very much like to keep our relationship as close as possible to them." Mr Virtanen added that the future relationship between the UK and Finland is dependent on the UK and EU's negotiating team reaching an agreement.
The Prime Minister agreed to terms with the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker to allow Britain to move onto the second phase of negotiations.
Last week, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that it was not open to a free trade agreement including financial services. .
Mr Barnier said: "There is no place for financial services. There is not a single trade agreement that is open to financial services. It does not exist.
In leaving the single market, they lose the financial services passport." The Frenchman faced a huge backlash from hardline Brexiteers as he claimed that the UK follow all EU rules during the expected two-year transition period following the official date of Brexit in March 2019.
Mr Barnier has since said: "Logically for the economic side of our partnership well be working on the basis of an FTA along the same lines as what we negotiated and signed recently with Canada, also South Korea, and Japan more recently. "There are of course differences between these different models because each of these cooperation models each of these trade models is, of course, tailor-made and specific for the country with which we´re signing these agreements.
"So there are differences, but it´s the same approach the same logic underpinning these agreements and that will be the situation with the UK in the light of what they have said their position is themselves." Theresa May has insisted the UK will seek a bespoke deal with the European Union. A statement from her office read: "The PM said it was clear what the Cabinet's objective is: a deal which secures the best possible trading terms with the EU, enables the UK to set rules that are right for our situation, and facilitates ambitious third country trade deals.
"The Brexit Secretary and PM were clear that the UK is seeking a bespoke deal.".
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