BERLIN (Reuters) - There will be no informal discussions between Britain and the European Union before the British government has invoked formal divorce proceedings by making the Article 50 request, a German government spokesman said on Monday.
"One thing is clear: before Britain has sent this request there will be no informal preliminary talks about the modalities of leaving," Steffen Seibert, spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, told a regular news conference.
"Only when Britain has made the request according to Article 50 will the European Council draw up guidelines in consensus for an exit agreement," he added.