The German government has washed its hands of German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer's letter to the EU Commission in which he asked the bloc for "unconditional security cooperation" with the UK after Brexit, German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Monday.
In a letter to the commission seen by Politico, Germany's permanent EU representation to Brussels stressed that Seehofer's views don't reflect those of Berlin.
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"Parts of the letter are in contradiction with the guidelines of March 2018, issued by the European Council in its Article 50 format, and with the position in this regard agreed by the federal government," wrote Thomas Eckert, a senior diplomat from the German Representation to the EU.
Seehofer, a vocal critic of Angela Merkel's open-door migrant policy, made the request amid a standoff in the German government, in which he argued that migrants should be turned away at Germany's borders.
Merkel, however, managed to reach a compromise with the minister a week ago, which included setting up transit centers for asylum seekers near German borders.
On June 20, Theresa May faced off a Tory rebellion in Parliament and won a crucial vote on the final Brexit deal. The PM assured the MPs that they would have a "meaningful say" and promised that more details of post-Brexit UK-EU links would come soon.
The UK's official departure from the bloc is scheduled for March 2019. London and Brussels have been struggling to reach a final deal that would provide clarity on post-Brexit customs arrangements, political partnership and border issues.
