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The Truss-Sunak race leaves Brussels pessimistic about relations with Great Britain

The Truss-Sunak race leaves Brussels pessimistic about relations with Great

European officials are pessimistic about a post-Brexit restoration of relations with the United Kingdom, whoever becomes Britain's next prime minister in September.

Whether Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak are handed the keys to Downing Street on September 5, officials in Brussels have little hope of a rapprochement with the new government, The Guardian reports .

More than six years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, relations have sunk to a post-Brexit low as the UK government pushes ahead with plans for a unilateral rewrite of the Northern Ireland protocol , a key point of the post-Brexit deal. The EU has said the plans - spearheaded by Truss, the foreign secretary - would breach international law and has threatened to scrap the trade deal after Brexit.

An EU diplomat said there was nothing to suggest Truss, the leader, would abandon the approach she has followed as foreign secretary.

"If the UK government follows the plan already set out, I think it's fair to say that relations will deteriorate," they said.

British and EU officials close to long-stalled talks on the protocol, however, believe there is a window of opportunity for a new prime minister once the controversial bill goes to the Lords, where it could be debated for months.

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