Brexit pangs
Brexit, once hailed as a grand natural experiment for economists to dissect the repercussions of leaving a low-friction trade environment, has proven messier than anticipated.
The UK government is set to publish its strategy for post-Brexit trade talks on Thursday, as it prepares for formal negotiations with the European Union (EU).
The government’s strategy will be put online and presented in Parliament, the BBC reported.
On Monday, the UK strategy was agreed by the EU Exit Strategy (XS) committee, which includes new Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, senior cabinet minister Michael Gove and new Attorney General Suella Braverman.
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Negotiations are due to begin in Brussels on March 2.
On Tuesday, the Council of the European Union (EU) authorised the EU’s opening of negotiations with the United Kingdom, publishing negotiations directives which constitute a mandate to the European Commission, paving the way for potentially difficult talks after Brexit.
In the June 2016 referendum, 62 per cent of the people in Scotland voted to remain.
Earlier in the month, a day after the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) after 47 years of membership, tens of thousands of pro-Europe protesters took to the streets on Saturday in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, marching against it.
Brexit was originally scheduled for March 29, 2019, but was repeatedly delayed when MPs rejected a previous withdrawal agreement reached by the EU and former Prime Minister Theresa May.
The UK has an option to extend the transition but Johnson refuses to, and intends to enshrine the 2020 date in legislation, PM Johnson’s office said.
Johnson was re-elected Prime Minister following his landslide victory in the December 12 general election, deemed as one the UK’s most decisive and crucial.
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