In what could be the clearest sign of Britain’s Brexit strategy, Philip Hammond, the British politician who is the chancellor of the exchequer said, Britain is planning for all potential Brexit outcomes, including a ‘no deal’ scenario; however the finance ministry will not disburse government departments funds for contingencies, yet.
The annoucement comes in the wake of Britain taking slow baby steps in its negotiations with the European Union on its exit from the EU as well as what deciding the scope of its future relationship with the European Union, the world’s biggest single trading bloc.
Brexit negotiations are on a clock and are scheduled to closed on March 31 2019. The slow pace has drawn calls from British lawmakers to walk away from the negotiations and start planning for a clean break.
“I am clear that we have to be prepared for a no deal scenario unless and until we have clear evidence that that is not where we will end up,” said Hammond to a parliamentary committee.
However, Hammond has rejected the notion that Britain should begin putting firm contingency plans in place, including ramping up its border and customs capabilities.
“What I am not proposing to do is to allocate funds to departments in advance of the need to spend,” said Hammond. “I don’t believe we should be in the business of making potentially nugatory expenditure until the very last moment when we need to do so.”
Source:
reuters.com
The annoucement comes in the wake of Britain taking slow baby steps in its negotiations with the European Union on its exit from the EU as well as what deciding the scope of its future relationship with the European Union, the world’s biggest single trading bloc.
Brexit negotiations are on a clock and are scheduled to closed on March 31 2019. The slow pace has drawn calls from British lawmakers to walk away from the negotiations and start planning for a clean break.
“I am clear that we have to be prepared for a no deal scenario unless and until we have clear evidence that that is not where we will end up,” said Hammond to a parliamentary committee.
However, Hammond has rejected the notion that Britain should begin putting firm contingency plans in place, including ramping up its border and customs capabilities.
“What I am not proposing to do is to allocate funds to departments in advance of the need to spend,” said Hammond. “I don’t believe we should be in the business of making potentially nugatory expenditure until the very last moment when we need to do so.”
Source:
reuters.com
