Britain’s new FM warns of no-deal Brexit risk
Britain's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt gives a press conference at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.
Reuters, Berlin :
Britain’s foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Monday there was a risk of no-deal Brexit if EU negotiators waited too long for Britain to “blink”, as the deadline for an agreement nears.
In Berlin on his first foreign visit since being appointed, Hunt said Germany was “one of Britain’s best friends in the world” and they shared a commitment to a rules-based international order. But all that could be upset by a chaotic exit from the bloc.
“When it comes to Brexit there is a very real risk of a Brexit no-deal by accident,” he told a news conference alongside his German counterpart Heiko Maas. Hunt’s pro-Brexit predecessor Boris Johnson resigned last week. With a little more than eight months to go before Britain is due to leave, negotiators remain deeply divided over what form Brexit should take.
“I think that many people in the EU are thinking that they just have to wait long enough and Britain will blink,” Hunt said.
“My real concern is that (a chaotic Brexit) would change British public attitudes to Europe for a generation and would lead to a fissure in relations that would be highly damaging.” Maas said Germany did not want a disorderly Brexit.
“We want an agreement. And we also know that for that we have to make steps toward each other,” he said, adding that the EU’s collective interests had to be defended.
Meanwhile, Britain’s slow move away from the European Union took a new twist Sunday as the new Brexit chief suggested that Britain might not pay its 39 billion pound ($51 billion) divorce bill if no trade agreement with the European Union is reached.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab told the Sunday Telegraph that there must be “conditionality” between Britain making the hefty exit payment and its ability to create a new relationship with the EU. “You can’t have one side fulfilling its side of the bargain and the other side not, or going slow, or failing to commit on its side,” he said, implying that the threat of withholding payment might get Brexit talks back on track.
Britain and the EU remain far apart on terms of a new trade setup. British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party is also deeply split over what Brexit policy to support. Raab replaced David Davis, who resigned two weeks ago to protest May’s “soft” Brexit plan.
May has faced a substantial rebellion from party colleagues who favor a complete break with the EU – a so-called “hard” Brexit – rather than May’s proposal, which calls for a “common rule book” with European nations that would govern trade in goods.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier is also lukewarm on May’s latest proposal, asking many questions about its viability Friday. Raab, however, says he is still hopeful a deal can be concluded by October so the EU parliament and national parliaments of EU nations can ratify the deal before Britain leaves in March.
Britain’s foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Monday there was a risk of no-deal Brexit if EU negotiators waited too long for Britain to “blink”, as the deadline for an agreement nears.
In Berlin on his first foreign visit since being appointed, Hunt said Germany was “one of Britain’s best friends in the world” and they shared a commitment to a rules-based international order. But all that could be upset by a chaotic exit from the bloc.
“When it comes to Brexit there is a very real risk of a Brexit no-deal by accident,” he told a news conference alongside his German counterpart Heiko Maas. Hunt’s pro-Brexit predecessor Boris Johnson resigned last week. With a little more than eight months to go before Britain is due to leave, negotiators remain deeply divided over what form Brexit should take.
“I think that many people in the EU are thinking that they just have to wait long enough and Britain will blink,” Hunt said.
“My real concern is that (a chaotic Brexit) would change British public attitudes to Europe for a generation and would lead to a fissure in relations that would be highly damaging.” Maas said Germany did not want a disorderly Brexit.
“We want an agreement. And we also know that for that we have to make steps toward each other,” he said, adding that the EU’s collective interests had to be defended.
Meanwhile, Britain’s slow move away from the European Union took a new twist Sunday as the new Brexit chief suggested that Britain might not pay its 39 billion pound ($51 billion) divorce bill if no trade agreement with the European Union is reached.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab told the Sunday Telegraph that there must be “conditionality” between Britain making the hefty exit payment and its ability to create a new relationship with the EU. “You can’t have one side fulfilling its side of the bargain and the other side not, or going slow, or failing to commit on its side,” he said, implying that the threat of withholding payment might get Brexit talks back on track.
Britain and the EU remain far apart on terms of a new trade setup. British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party is also deeply split over what Brexit policy to support. Raab replaced David Davis, who resigned two weeks ago to protest May’s “soft” Brexit plan.
May has faced a substantial rebellion from party colleagues who favor a complete break with the EU – a so-called “hard” Brexit – rather than May’s proposal, which calls for a “common rule book” with European nations that would govern trade in goods.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier is also lukewarm on May’s latest proposal, asking many questions about its viability Friday. Raab, however, says he is still hopeful a deal can be concluded by October so the EU parliament and national parliaments of EU nations can ratify the deal before Britain leaves in March.
