Facing pressure at home & abroad, UK govt to come up with Brexit dossier

The British government on Wednesday, May 16, said a detailed Brexit strategy dossier will be made public in the coming weeks amid chaos over charges that divisions in the cabinet were creating roadblocks with the European Union (EU) with which the UK is seeking a divorce.

The Brexit is officially set to happen on March 29 next year.

Brexit Secretary David Davis said the so-called White Paper would include "detailed, ambitious and precise explanations" of the British government's position ahead of the formal withdrawal.

"It will communicate our ambition for the U.K.'s future relationship with the EU, in the context of our vision for the U.K.'s future role in the world," reports quoted him as saying. The paper, which reportedly will run to about 100 pages, will be revealed ahead of the EU summit scheduled in June end.

The Theresa May government of Britain, which is dealing with all kinds of troubles over the Brexit negotiations, is yet to settle the question on the UK's post-Brexit trade ties.

According to an AFP-JIJI report in Japan Times, May is trying to find a balance between protecting jobs and trade ties with the bloc and setting in place a fresh independent foreign policy.

The report added that EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said this week that "no significant progress" happened since the EU leaders' last meeting in March end and cautioned that key issues must be resolved before the June summit.

May was also facing pressure from the Opposition over the matter. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn recently remarked in the House of Commons that the government was so busy negotiating with itself that it could not negotiate with anybody else. He reportedly told May that if she failed to take a decision on how to go forward, he would take over.

Corbyn said Brexit happened 23 months ago (June 2016) and with just 10 more months to go before it formally takes shape, the government is still in a "disarray".

May said three of her objectives - to forge an independent trade policy; a frictionless trade with the EU and avoid disruption between Ireland and Northern Ireland - were not easy to achieve but maintained that only her government will fulfil the expectations of the pro-leave voters of the 2016 referendum.

Her government was also struggling to arrive at a consensus on the government's options for future customs arrangements, the Japan Times report added.