Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Brexit will be ‘tough’ and ‘complicated’: UK finance minister

-

British Finance Minister Philip Hammond has warned that Brexit negotiations would be difficult, but said he hoped to maintain strong economic ties with the European Union.

"Of course the negotiations will be tough and they will be complicated," Hammond told CNBC Arabia television in an interview aired on Thursday.

"We have spent 40 years integrating our economies and now we have to separate them," he added during the interview in Kuwait, where he was visiting as part of a tour of the Gulf.

Britain will have two years to negotiate a deal with the EU once it triggers Article 50 of the bloc's Lisbon Treaty, formally beginning the withdrawal process.

Despite the daunting complexity and scope for conflict, Hammond said he hoped to secure a strong trading relationship with the rest of Europe.

The divorce "will take time and it will take effort, but we have mutual interest in maintaining a close economic, commercial and trading relationship," he said.

"Hundreds of thousands of jobs on the continent of Europe depend on exports to Britain and hundreds of thousands of jobs in Britain depend on our services being delivered into the European Union, particularly financial services from the city of London," he told the broadcaster.

Article 50: the mechanism that triggers the Brexit talks
Article 50: the mechanism that triggers the Brexit talks
, AFP

Hammond was criticised by pro-Brexit leaders last month when he backed a transitional deal to smooth the Brexit negotiations.

His call for a deal is in line with British industry leaders, in particular in the powerful financial sector, who are concerned about the effect of a so-called "hard Brexit" that would see the country quit Europe's free-trade area and lead to the potential for tariffs and red tape.

Prime Minister Theresa May is under increasing pressure to reveal details of her negotiating demands and strategy ahead of her March deadline for triggering Article 50.

May was also rocked when Ivan Rogers, Britain's ambassador to the EU, quit on Tuesday, criticising "ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking".

British Finance Minister Philip Hammond has warned that Brexit negotiations would be difficult, but said he hoped to maintain strong economic ties with the European Union.

“Of course the negotiations will be tough and they will be complicated,” Hammond told CNBC Arabia television in an interview aired on Thursday.

“We have spent 40 years integrating our economies and now we have to separate them,” he added during the interview in Kuwait, where he was visiting as part of a tour of the Gulf.

Britain will have two years to negotiate a deal with the EU once it triggers Article 50 of the bloc’s Lisbon Treaty, formally beginning the withdrawal process.

Despite the daunting complexity and scope for conflict, Hammond said he hoped to secure a strong trading relationship with the rest of Europe.

The divorce “will take time and it will take effort, but we have mutual interest in maintaining a close economic, commercial and trading relationship,” he said.

“Hundreds of thousands of jobs on the continent of Europe depend on exports to Britain and hundreds of thousands of jobs in Britain depend on our services being delivered into the European Union, particularly financial services from the city of London,” he told the broadcaster.

Article 50: the mechanism that triggers the Brexit talks

Article 50: the mechanism that triggers the Brexit talks
, AFP

Hammond was criticised by pro-Brexit leaders last month when he backed a transitional deal to smooth the Brexit negotiations.

His call for a deal is in line with British industry leaders, in particular in the powerful financial sector, who are concerned about the effect of a so-called “hard Brexit” that would see the country quit Europe’s free-trade area and lead to the potential for tariffs and red tape.

Prime Minister Theresa May is under increasing pressure to reveal details of her negotiating demands and strategy ahead of her March deadline for triggering Article 50.

May was also rocked when Ivan Rogers, Britain’s ambassador to the EU, quit on Tuesday, criticising “ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking”.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal infers that some workers might be falling out of the job market altogether.