British Trade Minister Liam Fox said on Friday that Britain will not agree to blackmail in order to accept the price of leaving the European Union and called on Brussels to accelerate negotiations regarding future British relations with the EU.
The third round of Brexit negotiations, focused on reaching an agreement on the terms of Britain’s exit from the EU, concluded on Thursday with a warning from Brussels that more work must be done before moving on to discussions about future relations.
The British government wants to redirect talks towards the topic of new relations, attempting to allay business fears related to trade and regulations, but Brussels has demanded that progress be made on central issues first, one of which is how much Britain must pay to leave the EU.
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“They cannot blackmail us into paying a price,” Fox told ITV during a visit to Japan with Prime Minister Theresa May.
The so-called Brexit law is a source of disagreement as Eurosceptics want to pay as little as possible, while the EU demands that Britain fulfill its existing obligations to the Union.
Britain has stated that it is ready to meet international obligations.
Fox said that business leaders across Europe have told him they would like to know as many details as possible about what the new relations between Britain and the European Union will look like.
“We think we should start talks on a final agreement because it is good for business, but also for the progress of the British people and other nations of the European Union,” Fox said.
