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Boris Johnson on Friday morning.
Sánchez congratulates Johnson and calls for an "ordered" Brexit that protects citizens' rights

Sánchez congratulates Johnson and calls for an "ordered" Brexit that protects citizens' rights

The British Chamber of Commerce in Spain has said that the new UK government must build "close" trade relations with the EU

AFP / EFE

Friday, 13 December 2019, 11:33

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Reactions in Spain to the majority acheived by the Conservative Party and its leader Boris Johnson in the UK elections have focused on what this means for Britain's exit from the EU and relations between the two countries.

Congratulations from Sánchez

Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has congratulated Boris Johnson on his victory and stated that he will continue to work towards an "ordered Brexit".

"We will continue to work towards an ordered Brexit that guarantees citizens' rights and freedoms and gives certainty to the financial sector," he said on Twitter on Friday morning.

In his tweet Sánchez also expressed his wish for the future relationship between the Euroepan Union and the United Kingdom to be "as close as possible".

Agriculture minister

The acting Spanish minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Luis Planas, said on Friday that the Tory victory "clearly brings us closer to the reality of an early Brexit".

Speaking to journalists in Cordoba, Planas stressed "the need for an ordered Brexit, especially for the agro-food sector but also from the point of view of the government".

He added that he hopes that the deal reached between the UK and the EU can be ratified in such a way as to minimise the negative effects on the market that could occur.

Chamber of Commerce

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) in Spain, meanwhile, is confident that Boris Johnson's new government will build a "close" trade relationship with the European Union after an "ordered" exit.

The Chamber has stressed that a no-deal would put the more than 60 billion euros of bilateral trade between Spain and the UK at risk, as well as a large number of jobs in both countries if the free movement of persons is limited.

The organisation also said that a useful transition period of at least one year after the successful agreement on a trade deal is "essential", as at present there are only guarantees of operational continuity until the end of 2020.

With regard to Spain the Chamber said it hoped that the new Spanish government would take the lead in the upcoming negotiations, since the UK is the country which has invested most in Spain in the first half of 2019, with 3.1 billion euros.

The president of the BCC in Spain, Christopher Dottie, has said that the deal the UK reached with Brussels in October "is not the best for the chamber's members, but is better than an exit with no deal".

Finally the Chamber has congratulated both the Conservative Party and Boris Johnson for their victory, wishing the new government the greatest success and wise decisions.

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