Exit plan: UK’s clean break from EU

Theresa May will promise to forge ‘a new and equal partnership’ with Union

london: Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing to make a speech that will signal that Britain will make a clean break from the European Union and not seek to remain “half-in, half-out”.

In her most detailed speech on the UK’s exit strategy, May will promise to forge “a new and equal partnership” with the EU.

“Not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, halfout,” she plans to say, according to excerpts released by her office.

“We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave.”

May’s speech appears to rule out the sort of close ties adopted by nonEU members Switzerland or Norway.

It’s likely to be another shock for the pound, which hit a three-month low below US$1.20 (RM5.36) on Monday. It traded slightly above that level early yesterday.

Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said he was “expecting a wild ride,” for the currency amid hints that May would signal an economy-roiling “hard Brexit.” Sterling has lost about a fifth of its value since Britain voted in June to leave the EU.

May has said she rejects both the “hard Brexit” label and its opposite, a compromise “soft Brexit” – but wants a new relationship in the interests of both Britain and the EU.

“We want to buy your goods, sell you ours, trade with you as freely as possible, and work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship,” she’ll say.

In a bid to alleviate fears that Brexit will mean a more insular Britain, May will say she wants the country to be “stronger, fairer, more united and more outward-looking than ever before.”

In an attempt to symbolise the UK’s outward-facing aspirations, May will deliver her speech to an audience of British civil servants and international diplomats at London’s Lancaster House, a Georgian mansion that has hosted international summits over the decades.

May’s speech signals that Britain will quit the EU’s single market in goods and services in order to gain control over immigration – a key issue for many voters who backed Brexit. EU leaders say Britain can’t stay in the single market without allowing free movement of people from the bloc.

The prospect of losing single-market access alarms many in Britain’s huge financial services sector, which relies on an ability to do business seamlessly across the 28-nation bloc.

It also worries the many foreign firms that use London not only as a financial hub but as an entry point into the EU.

May said that she would invoke Article 50 of the EU’s key treat by March 31, to formally begin a twoyear process of negotiating Britain’s departure.

But she has until now refused to reveal details about the government’s goals or negotiating strategy, arguing that to do so would weaken Britain’s hand.

Some details have now begun to emerge.

British Treasury chief Philip Hammond fueled speculation that Britain will play hardball in Brexit negotiations, telling the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that the UK hoped to retain single-market access but would be willing to “change our economic model to regain competitiveness” if that was cut off. — AP

We want to buy your goods, trade with you, and work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship.

Theresa May