EU COLLAPSE? Merkel’s government admits saving EU will be ‘MAJOR STRUGGLE’, says thinktank

GETTY

Germany believes will be a 'major struggle' to keep the EU together, a thinktank has claimed

Almut Möller, director of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), claimed Germany was desperate for Britain to stay in the Brussels bloc at such a crucial stage in the EU's history.

Moller said: “Berlin never wanted Britain to leave the EU and in many ways this choice is now coming at the worst of times.

The German government knows very well that keeping the European Union together will be a major struggle

Almut Möller

“Europe is confronted with major, concrete questions of prosperity and security, while at the same time there is a strong sense of realism in Berlin that only a few years ago would have perhaps resonated positively in London.

She added: “The German government knows very well that keeping the European Union together will be a major struggle; a struggle that will become far more difficult once President Trump steps into the Oval Office on Monday morning.”

“The priority of keeping the union of 27 together has been the consistent, dominant message in Berlin over the past months and Angela Merkel has invested a great deal of energy in shaping a unified European position on the Brexit process."

GETTY

Almut Möller (pictured) claimed Berlin 'never wanted Britain to leave the EU'

Moller hinted that German officials would not seek to harm Britain by giving Mrs May a bad Brexit deal as it would only complicate matters for all parties.

She said: “There is no desire for retaliation, but a rather sober and solemn assessment that the British withdrawal is merely another challenge to be added to Berlin’s overladen foreign policy agenda.”

Moller even claimed Berlin would have been pleased with Mrs May’s speech last week where she outlined her 12 point Brexit plan for Britain.

GETTY

Donald Trump claimed it was 'inevitable' other EU states would leave the bloc

Writing in the Guardian, she added: “Theresa May’s speech last week was in fact welcomed in Berlin. The Prime Minister’s announcement that Britain would pursue a complete, clean break from all EU structures (including the single market) and aim to negotiate a free-trade agreement with the EU has brought greater clarity to European negotiators and reduced the risk of British cherry-picking.”

Despite the threat Brexit poses to the EU, Moller said that Britain leaving the bloc has “bolstered support for the EU” and that a Le Pen presidency for France would be a "more grave, existential threat to the EU, in a way Brexit never really could be".

Theresa May is expected to meet Donald Trump on Friday in Washington, where informal talks regarding trade are expecting to be on the agenda.

Original Article