Thread by @StefanieBolzen

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt claimed last weekend Angela Merkel was willing to renegotiate the #Brexit deal since he had spoken personally to the German Chancellor. I checked his claims with a government spokesman in Berlin (thread): thesun.co.uk/news/brexit/92…

1/Hunt said he had talked to Merkel on the fringe of D-Day commemoration. The spokesman did not want to confirm any content 'since all conversations of the Chancellor are confident'

2/Acc to Hunt Merkel had stated 'with a new British PM the Europeans would certainly look at all solutions'. Berlin however points to Merkel's statement at the #Brexit Council April 10: EU27 'have again underlined that the Withdrawal Agreement applies and will not be changed...'

3/'...and also that we can certainly talk about the future relationship', i.e. the non-binding Political Declaration. See
bundesregierung.de/breg-de/suche/…

4/Talking to Sky, Hunt also mentioned 'the Germans talking about an intelligent border' in the context of the border question in Northern Ireland. To many that sounded as if Berlin was now looking independently at alternative arrangements.

5/The spokesman reiterated that 'the #Backstop is part of the WA agreed btw UK and EU in November 2018. The EU Commission heads the #Brexit negotiations. Therefore it is the Commission's responsibility to look at proposals in the context of the border question...'

6/end '...The solution found and anchored in the WA for this problem is the result of intense negotiations between the EU Commission and the UK.'