French, German Leaders Warn UK Facing 'Hard' Brexit Talks With EU

The leaders of France and Germany made it clear to UK Prime Minister Theresa May that Britain was facing "hard" talks regarding the country's exit from the European Union, media reported Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to The Guardian, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Brexit negotiations would be "rough," as May talked to EU leaders during the first day of a two-day European Council summit in Brussels.

French President Francois Hollande reportedly said that if May wanted "a hard Brexit," the talks on the matter would be "hard" as well.

European Council President Donald Tusk said he would prefer the United Kingdom to remain part of the European Union but the decision of the British people to leave the bloc should be respected.

On June 23, the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. On October 2, May said that the country would trigger Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty to initiate the procedure to leave the bloc by the end of March 2017.

A Sky Data poll revealed on Friday that almost half of Brits (49 percent) feared the prime minister had no clear plan on what Brexit should mean for the country, but most people (46 percent) still trusted May to get the best possible deal.