Concerns over what UK election means for Brexit; Wait and see, says Dutch PM

By Janene Pieters on June 9, 2017 - 14:25
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The Union Flag on the Palace of Westminster in London (Photo: Ввласенко/Wikimedia Commons). (The Union Flag on the Palace of Westminster in London (Photo: Ввласенко/Wikimedia Commons))

The official outcome of the election in the United Kingdom on Thursday is still unknown. But it is certain that Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party will lose its absolute majority. While anti-Brexit Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party gained ground. What consequences this will hold for the Brexit is unclear. We'll have to wait and see, is what Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has to say on the matter. 

In April Prime Minister May postponed the elections because she wanted a bigger mandate for the negotiation on the UK leaving the EU. There was too much division in parliament on the matter, she thought. She hoped to expand her narrow majority, but now seems to have lost it completely, NU.nl reports. 

As a result it has become more difficult for political leaders and businesses to estimate what wil happen in the Brexit negotiations, currently scheduled to start on June 19th.

"The British people have chosen. What the new constellation means for the Brexit, we'll have to see", Rutte said on Twitter. "The Netherlands is ready for cooperation."

EU chairman Donald Tusk doubts whether the negotiations will be able to start in ten days. "We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a 'no deal' as result of 'no negotiations", he tweeted. 

Time for the Brexit negotiations is limited. The British departure from the European union is currently scheduled for March 29th, 2019.

Michel Barnier, chief negotiator on behalf of the EU, said that the talks will start only once the United Kingdom is ready for them. "The timetable and position of the EU are clear", he said. "Let's get heads together and get a deal."

Concerns are also sounding from the financial markets on the uncertainty created by the election. ING worries that the negotiations will be delayed. "The elections also caused new issues that cause extra uncertainty around the Brexit", ING economists said, according to NU.nl. 

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