BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May says any future deal on cooperation between her country and the European Union has to take into account "a clear message" from the Brexit vote over immigration control.

After meeting Thursday with her Slovak counterpart Robert Fico, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, May says Britain also wants "the best possible deal on trade in goods and services."

May says Brexit could be seen as "an opportunity to intensify" economic relations with EU partners but "we should be driven by what is in the best interest of the UK ... not by the models that already exist."

Access to Europe's single market of 500 million people, which the British economy relies on, and immigration are likely to be the thorniest issues of future relations.