Brussels (AFP)

The Europeans said they were "ready" Friday to negotiate with the United Kingdom the future relationship, a few hours after the large victory of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the legislative, which paves the way for a Brexit on January 31.

"We are ready, we have defined our priorities," said European Council President Charles Michel on the second day of a European summit in Brussels.

The Belgian hopes for "swift ratification by the British parliament" of the exit agreement negotiated between London and the EU, "so that we can start calmly, calmly, but with great determination, the negotiation on the next phase ".

Europeans will pay particular attention to "the integrity of the internal market" and that the future relationship will guarantee a level playing field between the two parties, he insisted.

Boris Johnson emerged Friday as the strongman of the United Kingdom after his triumph in the legislative elections that should enable him to honor his promise to leave his country of the EU January 31.

The results published until Friday morning confirmed the trend given by the first estimates: an overwhelming majority for the Conservatives, who had not exercised such control over the British Parliament since Margaret Thatcher.

The 27 European leaders are to task Friday the current negotiator of the European Commission on Brexit, Michel Barnier, to negotiate this close trade relationship with the United Kingdom.

According to the latest version of their findings, seen by AFP, they will reaffirm their support for an "orderly withdrawal" from the UK "on the basis of the agreement" signed by Boris Johnson at the previous summit in October.

- "Balance" -

They call for a "future relationship as close as possible to the United Kingdom" while underlining that it should be "based on a balance of rights and obligations and ensuring a level playing field" in competition matters.

The UK withdrawal treaty provides for a transitional period until 31 December 2020, during which the British will continue to apply and benefit from European rules.

But most experts doubt that this delay is sufficient to negotiate the future relationship.

The UK government has until 1 July to request an extension of this period, by which time it can only submit one request: one or two more years.

But Boris Johnson has said he does not intend to ask for such an extension, leaving uncertainty about future relations between London and the EU.

"We need to rebuild relations with Great Britain, which is an important partner," said EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton on RTL radio on Friday.

"Britain is a very important partner of the EU, but we are by far the biggest trading partner of Britain," said the Frenchman.

The President of the European Commission, the German Ursula von der Leyen had said in the night that Brussels would get to work quickly to set the framework for these negotiations.

© 2019 AFP