Britain ‘likely’ to get transition deal

BREXIT: MUST FIRST CLARIFY WHAT IT WANTS FROM EU

Prime Minister May and other ministers will address it in series of speeches.

London

British Minister of International Development Penny Mordaunt says she believes the government will be able to strike a transitional Brexit deal with the European Union.

“It’s in our interests and it’s in the EU’s interests. I think common sense will prevail,” Mordaunt said, when asked if she thought a deal would be reached.

Britain is hoping to seal a transition deal next month to smooth its exit from the EU. However, Brussels said last week a deal was not a certainty and that London needed to clarify what it wanted from the EU.

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government will address that in a series of six speeches by the prime minister and other senior ministers in the next few weeks, which her office dubbed “The Road to Brexit”.

“Brexit is a defining moment in the history of our nation,” a source in May’s office said.

“As we move along the road to that future, we will set out more detail so people can see how this new relationship will benefit communities in every part of our country.”

May’s first speech next Saturday will set out the security relationship Britain wants with the EU.

She will deliver another setting out Britain’s future partnership, although a date for that has yet to be confirmed.

Foreign minister Boris Johnson, a leading Brexit advocate, will begin the Road to Brexit series with a speech on Wednesday, described by May’s office as a “rallying cry to those on both sides of the Brexit debate”.

Brexit Minister David Davis will outline how Britain’s businesses can maintain their global reputation after Brexit in an as yet unscheduled speech. Trade Minister Liam Fox and cabinet minister David Lidington will also give speeches.

Finance Minister Philip Hammond, seen as the most pro-EU member of May’s cabinet, will not give a speech. – Reuters