British Prime Minister David Cameron said his successor could begin negotiations with the European Union about the country’s exit from the bloc before the formal ‘Article 50’ legal process is triggered, despite comments from the EU to the contrary.
“They have said ‘no negotiation, without notification’ but I don’t think that excludes discussion that a new prime minister can have with partners or indeed with the institutions so that we continue to get off on the right foot,” he said.
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron leaves Number 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister’s Questions at parliament in London, Britain June 29, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall
Cameron also said that keeping the United Kingdom together was of paramount importance, responding to concerns that its constituent nations could seek independence after Britons voted to leave the European Union.
“Keeping the United Kingdom together is an absolute paramount national interest for our country,” he told parliament
Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Wednesday that Britain faces troubled economic times after it voted last week to leave the European Union, but said the government would not abandon its rules on limiting public spending.
“There’s no doubt in my mind these are going to be difficult economic times,” Cameron told parliament.
“If we do see economic difficulties, one of the ways we have to react to that is to make sure that our public finances and economy remain strong … so I don’t think it would be right to suspend the fiscal rules,” he said, rejecting a call from opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn for more investment.
Under Britain’s fiscal charter, the finance ministry should deliver a budget surplus by the end of the 2019/20 financial year and each year thereafter during “normal times”. It also targets a reduction of net debt as a percentage of economic output in each year until 2019/20.
But the surplus rule can be suspended if the Office for Budget Responsibility judges a shock to the economy could be on the way, defined as economic growth slowing to less than 1 percent on a rolling annual basis.
Finance minister George Osborne, whose attempt to calm markets had fallen on deaf ears on Monday, said the country would have to cut spending and raise taxes to stabilize the economy after credit ratings agencies downgraded its debt.
Last Thursday’s referendum wiped a record $3 trillion off global shares and sterling fell to its lowest level in 31 years against the dollar, prompting promises from policymakers to take all necessary measures to protect their economies.
Article 50 says:
“Any member state may decide to withdraw from the union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.”
It specifies that a leaver should notify the European council of its intention, negotiate a deal on its withdrawal and establish legal grounds for a future relationship with the EU. On the European side, the agreement needs a qualified majority of member states and consent of the European parliament.
The only real quantifiable detail in the article is a provision that gives negotiators two years from the date of article 50 notification to conclude new arrangements. Failure to do so results in the exiting state falling out of the EU with no new provisions in place, unless every one of the remaining EU states agrees to extend the negotiations.
(Reporting by William James, additional reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Stephen Addison)
(London Reuters- Reporting by William James and Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison)
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