The British government was not prepared for taking Britain out of the European Union (EU) and now appears to be improvising on its Brexit policy, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Tuesday.
The British government was not prepared for taking Britain out of the European Union (EU) and now appears to be improvising on its Brexit policy, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Tuesday.
"Nobody was ready. We're in a situation of improvisation," Sapin told reporters when asked about British Finance Minister Philip Hammond's veiled threat to use corporate tax as a form of leverage in Brexit negotiations.
"All of this shows how helpless the British government is in the face of a situation that some of them didn't want," Sapin added.
France would welcome more clarity and would like Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to be triggered as soon as possible, he said.
Britain's PM Theresa May is due to set out more detail on her Brexit plans on Tuesday in a speech to an audience including foreign diplomats and Britain's own Brexit negotiating team. "We seek a new and equal partnership, between an independent, self-governing, global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU," May will say, according to advance extracts released by her office. "Not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out. We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave."
The extracts did not set out explicit details of the future trading relationship she wants to have with the EU or what the 12 priorities would be, but media reported they would also include removing Britain from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Media reported May would be less explicit on her plans for the customs union, but that her emphasis on building new trade relationships would make clear Britain could be no longer a member in the way it is now.
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