Speed up Brexit transition talks or deal will be worthless: UK’s Hammond
British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Wednesday the value of a transitional Brexit deal would decline rapidly if talks to agree it drag into next year, but said it was too soon to spend money on contingency plans.
Negotiations on the terms of Britain’s exit from the European Union have made slow progress before a March 2019 deadline. Talks on a transition period have not even begun.
And while Hammond thinks it’s too early to begin enacting contingency plans for a failure to reach an agreement, EU diplomats and officials are putting renewed focus on preparing for a legal limbo after March 2019 .
Their efforts have intensified as Brexit negotiations stall on issues like the bill Britain must pay to leave and the future of Northern Ireland’s land border with the EU. If progress does not pick up, Hammond said, a transition agreement will rapidly diminish in value.