LONDON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday urged the British government to act swiftly to "offer more clarity" about its plans for Brexit, saying that "the clock is ticking."
The prime minister, tweeting after his talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street, called for swift action from London over its Brexit plans.
"So the British government really needs to offer more clarity about where it wants to go," Rutte said.
"The clock is ticking, and we need to move fast," the prime minister said. "I sincerely hope that we'll succeed in reaching agreements that are good for us all."
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for May said in a statement said that during the meeting, May gave an update on Brexit negotiations with both leaders agreeing on the importance of concluding the terms of the implementation period in March and the terms of the future partnership as soon as possible.
"The prime minister set out her vision for a bold future economic partnership with the Netherlands and the whole of the EU after the UK leaves, stressing that we should all be optimistic and flexible to achieve a trading relationship which is as frictionless as possible, which Prime Minister Rutte welcomed," the spokesperson said.
The Netherlands has been one of the UK's closest allies in the European Union (EU), the Dutch prime minister noted, adding that relations between the two nations are "fantastic."
"In view of our close economic ties, it is clearly crucial for the Netherlands and Dutch business to ensure a strong relationship post-Brexit," Rutte said.
The British government has asked the EU to consider granting the UK a longer Brexit transition period than the one proposed by Brussels, documents drawn up by negotiators show.
The European Commission has said the transition, during which the UK would be bound by EU rules despite being outside the bloc, should end on Dec. 31, 2020, but UK negotiators said on Wednesday that they want to discuss the possibility of a different duration -- amid concern that there may not be enough time to prepare for Brexit.
"The UK believes the period's duration should be determined simply by how long it will take to prepare and implement the new processes and new systems that will underpin the future partnership," negotiators said in an explanatory note leaked ahead of its planned publication.
Depending on the future trade deal struck with Brussels, the UK might have to significantly overhaul the physical infrastructure of its ports and airports to cope with a dramatic increase in customs checks, as well as do other work that has yet to actually begin nearly two years after the referendum.
The transition is highly controversial with Conservative Brexiteers, who say that it amounts to making Britain a "vassal state" of the EU where it would follow EU rules without having any say over what they were.
However, British Brexit Secretary David Davis said the period is a "bridge to the future" and only amounts to a "short period" in the EU's orbit.
