14:56

The prospect of Germany not having a strong government in place until early next year is being seen by MEPs as a monumental drawback for Brexit talks.



While compromise solutions over EU citizens’ rights and the divorce bill Britain will eventually pay are seen as being almost assured, MEPs say the lack of a fully operational government in Berlin remains a major risk when it comes to the issue of Ireland.

“Without having a strong government in Germany it is very difficult to handle the broader situation,” said the Greek MEP, George Kyrtsos, who sits on the economic and monetary affairs committee. He said:

If we reach a point where we have to make a political compromise regarding Ireland it will be that much harder without a fully functioning government in Berlin and that is not likely to happen before February or March at the earliest.

A member of the centre right European People’s party, who follows Brexit negotiations closely, Kyrtsos, described the political uncertainty in the EU’s powerhouse member as the biggest problem when it came to EU decision-making. He said: