U.K. Brexit Minister Says Strategy Still in Planing Stages

LONDON—The U.K.'s new Brexit minister told lawmakers Tuesday that his recently formed department was still determining its negotiating aims and strategy for exiting the European Union, in an appearance before British lawmakers Tuesday.

David Davis avoided answering questions about what relationship the government wants to secure with the bloc, despite mounting pressure for more clarity. Two months into Prime Minister Theresa May's time in office, her team has given little indication of how it plans to proceed with negotiations.

Mr. Davis reiterated the government's position that it wouldn't trigger the formal EU exit process, known as Article 50, until next year. He said the government needs time to assess negotiating aims and tactics and the legalities of Article 50.

"All those things really have to be fairly clear before you start," Mr. Davis said. "I would rather go a month late and get it right than go a month early and get it wrong."

He said he thinks the U.K. can complete negotiations on leaving the EU within two years from the time it triggers Article 50. He added that he thinks the U.K. is unlikely to end up in a situation where it doesn't strike a deal on its new relationship with the EU and must rely on World Trade Organization rules.

He said his department has quadrupled over recent weeks to about 200 staff and he expects it to double again in size.

His team so far has been focused on preparatory work, including consulting with representatives from various sectors. He said the department would need to study how Brexit would affect the U.K. economy before formally starting negotiations, including an assessment of non-tariff barriers.

In terms of the government's negotiating strategy, he said the government would set out broad objectives but not publicly detail its strategy because he said it didn't want to undermine its negotiations.

He said the government cabinet committee on Britain's exit from the EU has met twice already and he expects it to meet once a month.

Mr. Davis defended the government's position that it doesn't have to consult with Parliament before formally triggering Britain's exit from the bloc, saying it wouldn't be right for Parliament to have the opportunity to overturn what the people voted for.

His comments came after a U.K. parliamentary report said it would be "constitutionally inappropriate" to act on the referendum without explicit parliamentary approval, something Mrs. May's office has said is unnecessary

The report, published by the House of Lords constitution committee, also said Parliament should have a role in approving the final deal between the U.K. and the EU and that not consulting Parliament would set a "disturbing precedent."

Mrs. May's government argues it has the authority to act alone. "This is a decision for the government," Mrs. May's spokeswoman said Tuesday. "Both houses of Parliament decided to put the decision about whether or not we remain a member of the EU in the hands of the British people and now we need to get on with delivering that decision."

The British public in June voted to leave the EU in a historic referendum, a decision the government has pledged to implement. But the ballot didn't cover what sort of relationship Britain should have with the bloc after it left, and British politicians are torn over how the negotiations should be handled and to what extent Parliament and the public should have a say on the matter.While some argue the U.K. should have a relationship that is as close as possible with the rest of Europe, others say it should prioritize full control over immigration, even at the expense of access to the EU's single market, which could put British companies at a disadvantage.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's lead negotiator on Brexit, said the EU needs to have an agreement on Britain's withdrawal from the bloc by 2019. A statement from his Twitter account Tuesday said that if the U.K. wants access to the EU's single market, it "must also accept the free movement of citizens."

Write to Jenny Gross at jenny.gross@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 13, 2016 21:35 ET (01:35 GMT)

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