MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Union remains an asset for all Europeans despite the existing problems within the union and such challenges as Brexit, Steinmeier said Saturday.
"Maybe if we had talked more about the problems and risks involved, we would have avoided some setbacks. Nevertheless, despite all the difficulties, the European Union remains an asset for all Europeans," Steinmeier said in an interview with the Ouest-France newspaper.
As regards the decision of the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union, Steinmeier said that small or large crises were inevitable, and expressed hope that Europe would not "fall back into a bygone era."
On March 29, London finally triggered the EU withdrawal process by handing a formal letter to European Council President Donald Tusk. According to Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the United Kingdom now has two years to complete the negotiations, and must leave the European Union on March 29, 2019.
