VIENNA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen sharply criticized Britain's approach to Brexit under Prime Minister Theresa May.
In an interview with the Austria Press Agency published on Friday, Alexander Van der Bellen said, there presently exist "100,000 open questions to clarify."
He pointed out that numerous issues concerning personal profit, such as the pensions of British citizens living in the European Union (EU), have not yet been answered. There has "not one single compromisable proposal" from the May administration, he said.
The president added the Brexit is nonetheless to be accepted, though it serves as a "wake-up call" to the rest of the EU.
He also referred to the nationalist rhetoric of far-right politicians such as Geert Wilders of the PVV party in Holland and Marine Le Pen, the president of the National Front in France, as "completely unrealistic."
Earlier this month, Britain's EU envoy Tim Barrow informed the office of European Council President Donald Tusk of Britain's intention to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on March 29, nine months after the country voted to leave the bloc.
However, except for finally settling on the date to formally start the Brexit negotiations and that Britain wants a "hard Brexit," the British government has so far given little clue about how it will proceed with what could be more than two years of talks.
