The Scottish National Party says Scotland should
hold a referendum on independence from the
U.K., which Johnson refuses to allow.
Despite Johnson’s repeated promise to “get
Brexit done” on Jan. 31, the day of departure
only marks the start of the country’s EU exit.
Guy Verhofstadt, the leading EU lawmaker on
Brexit, said the bloc’s parliament would continue
to scrutinize the way Britain implemented the
divorce agreement -- especially to ensure that
the rights of EU citizens living in the U.K. are
protected after Brexit.
In February, Britain and the EU will begin
negotiations on their future ties, racing to strike
new relationships for trade, security and a host
of other areas by the end of 2020.
Johnson insists he won’t agree to any delays in
those talks beyond the end of the year. The U.K.
is also keen to begin talks on a free trade deal
with the United States, and intends to negotiate
simultaneously with the EU and the U.S.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the
Swiss ski resort of Davos, U.S. Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin said a deal with Britain was
“an absolute priority of President Trump and we
expect to complete that within this year.”
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said a trade
deal between the two countries shouldn’t be too
difficult because their economies are similar.
“Both are very heavily services oriented and
within services, such as financial services, there’s
already a pretty high degree of integration
and coordination, so it should be much easier
mechanically,” he said in Davos.
But British opposition politicians are already
raising concerns about issues ranging from food-