Britain may continue with some EU cooperation post-Brexit

05/12/2016 05:34 AST

Britain could pay in to some EU programmes after Brexit but the government will take back control of its own money and will no longer spend large amounts in Brussels, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday.

Businesses, investors and opposition lawmakers are clamouring for clarity on the government’s negotiating position before it triggers the formal exit procedure from the European Union by the end of March.

Last week, Brexit minister David Davis said Britain could pay into the EU budget to get access to the bloc’s single market of 500 million customers, easing fears that the government is heading for a “hard Brexit” involving a clean break with the bloc.

But Johnson, speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr television programme, declined to confirm whether that was a priority for the government, saying ministers were considering several options.

“I’ve always thought that there were aspects of EU cooperation...where actually... to be part of that in the future might be a good idea, certainly would be a good idea if it involved paying in,” Johnson said, referring to the Erasmus student exchange programme and Horizon programme for research.

“(Paying in for single market access) is obviously something that David Davis is considering. That doesn’t mean that a decision has been taken.”

“The crucial thing to understand is very large sums of money will be coming back to this country which...

could be spent on priorities like the NHS (national health service),” said Johnson, who campaigned for Britain to leave the EU on a “battle bus” that had written on its side: “We send the EU £350 million a week, let’s fund out NHS instead.”

Johnson has been criticised for saying the health service could benefit to such a large extent and since then has found some of his comments made during the campaign have come back to haunt him.

Several EU officials have questioned whether they can trust him, and some opposition lawmakers have accused him of putting one of the most complicated negotiations since World War Two in jeopardy by making unscripted comments.

The Gulf Today