EU Parliament Refuses to Offer UK More Benefits Than Member States

The United Kingdom should not expect preferential treatment following its departure from the European Union, but the country will be given the opportunity to negotiate a new stable relationship with the bloc, Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit negotiator, said on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United Kingdom's exit from the EU formally began on Wednesday after a letter triggering Article 50 of the EU treaty signed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May is delivered to Brussels later in the day.

"We are tough on one issue as the European Parliament, that is that we can never accept that you have a state outside the European Union who is more favorable than membership inside the European Union. So on that we will be unflexible," Verhofstadt told Sky News in an interview.

The EU chief Brexit negotiator added that it was necessary to find a new relationship, and that Brussels believed "association agreement is the best way to go forward to give again certainty and stability in this relationship between the UK on the one hand and the EU on the other hand."

The European Union member states' permanent representatives are expected to gather on Friday to draft a detailed Brexit negotiations plan, which would be considered at the April 27 European Council meeting and the April 29 Special European Council on Article 50.