Europe

The Latest: Hungary calls for Brexit free-trade deal

Associated Press
Published | Updated

British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis, right, and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto meet at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, April 20, 2017. (Attila Kovacs/MTI via AP) (The Associated Press)

President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani meets with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May inside 10 Downing Street in London, Thursday April 20, 2017. Britain is gearing up for parliamentary elections coming less than a year after Britain voted to leave the European Union, and will likely be dominated by the political and economic upheaval spawned by Brexit. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/Pool via AP) (The Associated Press)

President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani meets with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May inside 10 Downing Street in London, Thursday April 20, 2017. Britain is gearing up for parliamentary elections coming less than a year after Britain voted to leave the European Union, and will likely be dominated by the political and economic upheaval spawned by Brexit. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/Pool via AP) (The Associated Press)

The Latest on the British exit from the European Union (all times local):

12:45 p.m.

Hungary's foreign minister says a free-trade agreement between the European Union and Britain should be part of Britain's EU exit.

Peter Szijjarto, speaking after meeting British Brexit Secretary David Davis, said Thursday that "a fair Brexit deal ... simply cannot exclude a free-trade agreement."

Szijjarto also says that protecting the rights of Hungarians working in Britain was Hungary's top priority, citing estimates of between 55,000 and 200,000 Hungarians there who remit an annual average of 6,300 euros ($6,780) a year back to Hungary.

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12:40 p.m.

European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will travel to Britain with chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier at the invitation of Prime Minister Theresa May next week.

Both sides will meet on Wednesday to assess the upcoming two years of negotiations which were triggered by Britain March 29.

The EU is fine-tuning its negotiating mandate and has said that talks can start in earnest after the June 8 snap elections that May has called.