Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg says long membership of EU has left Britain without key skills for successful trade talks
Britain’s four-decade membership of the EU has left it lacking experience in international negotiations, which will hamper it in trade talks and may lead to “a very hard Brexit”, Norway’s prime minister has said. Erna Solberg, speaking to Reuters at a meeting of Bavaria’s centre-right CSU party in Germany, said that the UK worked slowly in discussions due to a lack of recent experience of entering talks alone. “We do feel that sometimes when we are discussing with Britain, that their speed is limited by the fact that it is such a long time since they have negotiated,” she said. Solberg said she hoped the UK would be able to negotiate an agreement that kept it close to the EU, but it would not be easy. “I fear a very hard Brexit, but I hope we will find a better solution.” The remarks reinforce those made by Sir Ivan Rogers, who resigned as Britain’s EU ambassador this week.
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