Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon said a "sound agreement" between the EU and the United Kingdom was of vital importance to Flanders.
The leader of the Flemish region met with the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Tuesday, just days after the UK officially terminated nearly 50 years of EU membership.
Jambon wrote that the initial meeting had been "pleasant and useful," adding: "A sound agreement on the future relationship between the EU and the British is immensely important for Flanders."
The Flemish leader is one of many set to hold talks with Barnier as he gears up for a new round of negotiations on trade across the English Channel, in which Flemish ports play a key role.
In the meeting, Jambon told the EU's top Brexit negotiator of the "potentially very serious" consequences that Brexit could have for Flanders, and said that Flanders was still preparing for the worst-case scenario, the region's foreign affairs department said.
Their meeting came just a day after the EU Commission published its guide on negotiations with the UK, where a series of directives on trade as well as in cross-border legal and police cooperation are outlined.
"Good exchange of views Jan Jambon on Brexit and its challenges for Flemish business," Barnier said in a Tweet, which was also shared in Dutch.
According to Barnier, a "broad and deep partnership," with the UK in which the "principles and interests" of the EU are respected, was the goal to aim for.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
