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Spain’s foreign minister says his country “regrets, but also respects the United Kingdom’s decision” to leave the European Union.
Speaking at a parliamentary committee hearing to analyze the fallout of Brexit, Alfonso Dastis said Spain is looking to prioritize agreements on the rights of EU citizens and the financial relationship between Britain and the remaining EU countries.
Dastis told lawmakers Madrid will look for a “citizens first” approach to a post-Brexit agreement that is based on the “key principle of reciprocity.”
He says the rest of the EU shouldn’t concede to British requests to maintain favorable financial treatment “without equivalence in the freedom of people’s movement.”
Dastis said: “There is no room for any a la carte agreement.”