The German chancellor’s polite but firm “Nein” when the two leaders met in Berlin on November 18 dashed the British prime minister’s hopes of a quick, informal deal to reassure expatriates on both sides of the Channel that they will not lose out when Britain leaves the EU, three people familiar with the matter said. [...]
A senior European Commission official had quietly encouraged the initiative in a private capacity, both to improve mutual understanding with London and to avoid any suggestion that European citizens were being taken hostages in the negotiations. If the EU were to say it was ready to safeguard the position of Britons living in Europe, it would gain the moral high ground in the talks, the argument went. [...]
But Merkel had already put paid to the British bid by then, sticking to her mantra that there can be no pre-negotiations before Britain tenders its formal notice of intention to leave the Union, setting in motion a two-year countdown to its withdrawal. [...]
The tactical thinking behind the German rejection speaks volumes about the depth of mistrust between Berlin and London, and about Merkel’s determination to put preserving the unity of the other 27 EU members ahead of the future relationship with a departing Britain.
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