German Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Roth (Roth) said that the European Union does not intend to punish Great Britain for leaving the Union, but added that Brexit is not good for either Great Britain or the EU. "We of course have to protect our interests as the EU 27, but naturally we also don't want to punish Great Britain," Roth told German radio RBB. Roth said that "Brexit is a very, very difficult operation" and added that just over a year remains available for negotiations. "Brexit will not improve anything, but it will make many things more difficult. And we want to try to solve difficult things in the best possible way," said the German official. Today in Brussels, Great Britain and the EU officially begin negotiations on the country's withdrawal from the Union with a meeting between British Minister Davis and European Commission negotiator Michel Barnier, almost a year after the British referendum.
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