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David Davis has conceded that there may have to be some transitional period in the UK’s departure from the EU. However, the Brexit secretary said this would be for the sake of France, Belgium and the Netherlands rather than the UK.
Rejecting claims the UK has softened its hard Brexit position, he told a House of Lords select committee on Tuesday that Britain’s nearest neighbours were not in the same state of preparedness for customs checks and border controls.
Such “practicalities” would force a need for a transition period, rather than a change of government Brexit strategy, he said.
“I believe we can get a free trade negotiation concluded and a customs union agreement concluded in the [Brexit negotiating] period; what will be much more difficult however is to get all the practical implementations that go with it,” he told peers, adding that this was a problem “not so much for us” but for others.
“It will be quite tough to get customs in the right place in two years but it’s doable with a bit of money, but to get the French customs in the same place in two years or the Belgian or the Dutch customs I think will be a different issue, that’s why a transition period [is needed],” Davis said.
His comments echo those from the shipping industry three months ago which raised concerns that other countries did not grasp the scale of the challenge of a hard Brexit. [...]