As Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for Brexit, Minister Coveney has responsibility for co-ordinating the whole-of-Government response to Brexit. In this capacity, he is working closely with his colleagues across Government to address the many challenges resulting from Brexit. This co-operation also involves the relevant State Agencies.
Work at Cabinet level is being prepared through cross-Departmental co-ordination structures. These represent a frequent and active channel through which all relevant Departments are providing their research, analysis and overall policy input to the Government’s wider response to Brexit, including its priorities for the ongoing Article 50 negotiations between the EU and the UK.
As the outcome of the negotiations is not yet known, an important focus of the planning and preparation being undertaken through these structures is on deepening the Government’s analysis and understanding of the exact consequences of a range of different possible scenarios. This represents an intensification of efforts to build on the Government‘s contingency planning.
My Department's priorities have, primarily, a domestic focus and the potential impact of agreement not being reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom on matters such as trade regimes and tariffs are not considered likely to greatly affect the Department's main areas of activity. However, my Department continues to work closely with other Departments through the structures established, monitoring the progress of the negotiations and responding as appropriate.
