"So as with the dog walking on its hind legs, perhaps we should be impressed if the four governments manage to work together at all, rather than overly critical of how skilfully they perform the task. But the stakes are high. If it proves impossible to find consensus and the dog topples over after a few tentative steps, the result may be a serious breakdown in relations between the four governments (and nations) of the UK," the report, entitled "Four-nation Brexit: How the UK and devolved governments should work together on leaving the EU," read.
"Now that a firm deadline for triggering Article 50 has been set, the governments must collectively step up a gear and establish the necessary systems for joint working on this issue. Working in partnership in this way will naturally require all sides to compromise. If agreement proves elusive, then each of the four governments should be held to account for their contribution to this failure," the report said.
The authors of the report warned that in case of failure chances of Scottish independence, as well as "rifts in Northern Ireland’s fragile power-sharing arrangements" would increase.
On Monday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May hosts talks with her counterparts from Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast in London to discuss Brexit. It is the first meeting of devolved governments since June 23 vote.
On June 23, Britian voted to leave the European Union by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. The formal procedure is expected to end in 2019.
