The German government aims to push for the European Union to negotiate an association agreement with Britain once it leaves the E.U., but wants to avoid making too many concessions that would give incentives for other states to follow suit, according to an internal German finance ministry paper seen by Handelsblatt.<\/p>\n
An association treaty spells out trading rules and other regulations between the European Union and a non-E.U. country, for instance whether import tariffs apply to certain goods or services.<\/p>\n
A treaty with Britain, once it had left the European Union, should not offer too much leeway to Britain in gaining access to the European Union\u2019s internal market, said the ministry\u2019s document, of which Handelsblatt has obtained a copy.<\/p>\n
The document, prepared by Finance Minister Wolfgang Sch\u00c3\u00a4uble\u2019s department, is called \u201cGerman strategy regarding Brexit.\u201d\u009d Eight pages long, the paper details how the government wants to deal with Britain as it leaves the European Union.<\/p>\n
To deter other European countries from leaving the bloc, the European Union \u201cshould refrain from setting wrong incentives for other member states when renegotiating relations,\u201d\u009d said the paper.<\/p>\n
Other countries that might want to leave the European Union could be France, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands and Hungary, according to the paper. \u201cThe extent of the knock-on effect will depend on the handling of the United Kingdom,\u201d\u009d it said.<\/p>\n
Mr. Sch\u00c3\u00a4uble and his boss, Chancellor Angela Merkel, are also worried about another issue, according to the document. Both fear that the European Commision, the region\u2019s executive body, France and Italy could exploit the current uncertainty to push for more risk-sharing \u201d\u201d a reference to pooling liabilities in tackling the euro debt crisis, for example. Germany should \u201cproactively\u201d\u009d steer against such a development, the paper said.<\/p>\n