LONDON - Prime Minister Theresa May pledged on Monday to address business concerns that Britain could fall off a "cliff edge" into uncertain trading conditions after leaving the EU, hinting at some form of a transitional agreement.
It was the strongest sign yet that May could be open to a deal that would offer Britain time to forge a new trading relationship with the European Union when the up to two-year formal divorce talks are concluded, most likely in 2019.
Speaking to business leaders at the CBI, a leading business organization in Britain, May moved to ease concerns among company bosses who had been alarmed by a plan to put workers on boards and to tackle excessive executive pay.
But she would not be moved to reveal more of her negotiating hand before she triggers Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to launch two years of formal divorce talks, saying business leaders should understand better than anyone that she did not want anything to jeopardize winning the "right" deal.
Asked about business calls for a transitional deal, she said: "We want to get the arrangement that is going to work best for the UK and the arrangement that is going to work best for business in the UK."
"I am conscious that there will be issues that need to be looked at ... that people don't want a cliff edge, they want to know with some certainty how things are going to go forward, that will be part of the work that we do in terms of the negotiation." (Reuters)