A "smart" Brexit deal could serve as a model for the EU's future relations with non-EU countries, says German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
Turkey and Ukraine are two countries that could benefit from the model, he told German media group Funke.
They do not appear to be joining the EU any time soon, so alternative forms of closer co-operation are needed, he said.
The future relationship of the United Kingdom with the EU, which is to leave on March 29, 2019 from the bowels of the Union, is still under negotiation.
The two sides agreed this month on the three "divorce" issues that began the first phase of negotiations:
In June 2016, the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the EU after more than four decades of accession.