Theresa May has told the President of the European Parliament that she wants Britain to have a "close relationship" with the EU, as she seeks to smooth the path of Brexit talks.
Under the Article 50 process, Martin Schulz, a centre-left German MEP, has an important role in getting the European Parliament to ratify the final exit agreement.
He has urged Theresa May to "get cracking" with the exit process, and said that Europe should not treat the UK "as a deserter".
But as Mrs May met him upstairs at Number 10, she said: "Of course we both know that the formal negotiations can only start when we have triggered the Article 50 and I welcome the understanding that our European partners have shown, but I won't be doing that before the end of the year."
She added: "I think this period of preparation is valuable for all concerned and while we are going to leave the European Union, we are not leaving Europe.
"And we want the EU to continue to be strong and have a close relationship with it and I think that will be in both our interests.
Mr Schulz did not say much as he left the meeting, except to say that the talks were "very good".
Mr Schulz did not say much as he left the meeting, except to say that the talks were "very good".
But before the meeting, he had admitted that the European Parliament is "not the easiest" partner to work with but that he was in Britain to "listen and to learn".
He said: "I will also reiterate that the four freedoms of the single market - goods, capital, service and person - are equally important."
He also said that he intended to stress that the European Parliament wanted the "earliest possible triggering" of Article 50, a pre-condition to beginning Brexit negotiations.
Source: SkyNews
Source: SkyNews