Macron will not seek to ‘punish’ UK over Brexit – adviser

Incoming French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a “tough” line during Brexit negotiations but will not seek to “punish” Britain, his chief economic adviser said Monday.

“I don’t think anybody has an interest in a hard Brexit,” Jean Pisani-Ferry told the BBC.

“There is a mutual interest in keeping prosperity that exists and has built over the years… and obviously also the security and defence relationship, which is extremely important.”

Macron, who campaigned on a pro-EU platform, has previously called Brexit a “crime” and said that Britain should continue paying into the EU budget if it wants access to the European single market.

British businesses have warned against a “hard Brexit”, which would sever ties with Europe’s single market and force Britain to trade with the bloc according to World Trade Organisation minimum tariffs.

When asked if he would still seek to make Britain pay, Pisani-Ferry replied: “Punish? Certainly not. but he believes that even today Europe is part of the solution to the problems we are facing.”

The adviser, who is expected to get a senior role in the new government, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Macron would still be a formidable adversary during negotiations.

“We have divergent interests on some aspects of the negotiations, so there will be a tough negotiation and he will be tough,” he said.

“As grown ups on both sides, we can manage to settle the exit negotiation and to build up a relationship,” he added.

British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to Macron late Sunday to congratulate him on his victory.

“The leaders briefly discussed Brexit and the prime minister reiterated that the UK wants a strong partnership with a secure and prosperous EU once we leave,” said a press release from her Downing Street office.

Britain will negotiate with the other 27 members of the European Union to set the terms of its divorce after triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty in March.

Tensions are already running high after an unflattering account of a Downing Street meeting between May and EU chiefs appeared in a German newspaper, which the British premier claimed was an attempt to affect the result of Britain’s upcoming general election.