The German Foreign Minister has said the EU should resist the temptation to treat Britain too harshly as a result of Brexit.

Sigmar Gabriel, speaking at a security conference in Munich, said he regretted Britain's decision to leave the bloc, but added: "We must respect it."

"We should resist the temptation to treat Britain overly harshly, not out of pity, but in our own interest," said Mr Gabriel, who is also Germany's vice chancellor.

Image: German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel

"We need Britain, for example, as a partner in security policy, and I'm also convinced that Britain needs us."

Some European officials have expressed fears an attractive deal for Britain might tempt other EU nations to also leave the bloc, though leaders have warned against punishing London.


The Prime Minister warned EU leaders in a key Brexit speech last month that offering a bad deal to punish the UK would be "an act of calamitous self-harm".

Boris Johnson's great escape comment

And Boris Johnson compared any attempt to punish Britain to a World War Two escape movie, saying both sides would do better to strike a mutually beneficial trade deal.

The Foreign Secretary had been responding to comments that French president Francois Hollande would not be prepared to give the UK a better deal outside the single market than it had in it.