LISBON, Jan 31 (NNN-Xinhua) — Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that he hopes there will be unity among the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) in the negotiations of the future relationship with the United Kingdom (UK).
Rebelo de Sousa told reporters, according to Lusa News Agency, that “it is in everyone’s interest” to maintain a bridge between the UK and EU after Brexit.
The president said he’s moderately optimistic about the possibility of a reasonable agreement between the EU and the UK, but called for unity within the EU in the negotiations.
“(If) there is no unity of the 27 (EU member states), there is no capacity to jointly negotiate an agreement,” he warned.
“This is an important moment for the survival and success of the European project,” said the president.
Regarding Portugal’s relationship with the UK, the president said that they are “allies as always”.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the UK.
As of Feb 1, the UK will no longer be an EU member state, although it will continue to apply EU law until the transition period ends at the end of 2020.
Britons voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June 2016, and the government formally notified the EU of its intention to leave in March 2017. — NNN-XINHUA