Britain should stay as closely connected to Europe's common market as it can after it leaves the European Union, the trade minister of non-EU member Norway said today.
The Nordic country is not an EU state, but it pays hundreds of millions of euros to access the European internal market.
It has been held up by some, especially Brexit supporters, as a potential model for post-Brexit Britain to follow.
"Britain is perhaps our most important economic partner. We want the future cooperation and trade conditions to be as good as today," Trade and Industry Minister Monica Maeland said.
"The best for Norway is a "soft Brexit", which would keep Britain as closely tied to the common market as possible," she said.
Maeland's comments came after a meeting yesterday of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Switzerland's president said his country would consider letting Britain join EFTA when it eventually leaves the EU.
The EFTA countries count 14 million inhabitants while Britain counts 65 million.
Norway pays into the EU budget and abides by many of its rules, including those on freedom of movement, to gain access to the single market through The European Economic Area, which includes the EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
In contrast to "soft Brexit", where Britain would stat in or close to the EU's single market, a "hard Brexit" would mean an exit from the common market in order to impose controls on immigration, disrupting access to its main trading partner.
