Britain starts forming vision for post-brexit world
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May met Monday with senior ministers to begin thrashing out Britain’s plans for its long-term relationship with the European Union after Brexit.
May met with her Brexit “war cabinet” to discuss formally what trade deal Britain wants with the
EU, whether to stay aligned with the EU’S trade rules and maintain close economic ties with the bloc, or seek more flexibility so Britain could strike its own trade deals around the world.
Among those who want more flexibility is Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who said that Britain would “have gone from a member state to a vassal state” if it continues to adhere to EU trade rules.
“What we need to do is something new and ambitious, which allows zero tariffs and frictionless trade but still gives us that important freedom to decide our own regulatory framework, our own laws and do things in a distinctive way in the future,” he told the Sunday Times.
Leaders of the EU’S 27 other nations last week declared that Brexit talks finally could move on to the next phase, specifically on their future relationship.
Brexit Secretary David Davis has said he wants Britain to adapt a tailor-made free trade deal with the EU that’s more substantive than the one Canada has with the bloc. But the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, insists Britain has to “realize there won’t be any cherry picking.”
“No way. They have to face the consequences of their own decision,” he told Britain’s Prospect Magazine.