21 April 2020

UK will refuse any EU offer to extend Brexit transition

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The UK government will not accept any delay to the Brexit transition period beyond this year even if the EU offers an extension, Downing Street said on Thursday. A Downing Street official said there were no circumstances in which the UK would delay its departure from the standstill relationship with the bloc beyond December 31 2020, despite the disruption to the negotiations caused by the coronavirus crisis. “We will not ask to extend the transition. And, if the EU asks, we will say no. Extending the transition would simply prolong the negotiations, prolong business uncertainty, and delay the moment of control of our borders,” the official said. Refusing to accept an extension if offered by Brussels is a toughening of Downing Street’s stance. Until now, Boris Johnson’s government has repeatedly said it would not ask for an extension. The official added that remaining in the bloc would restrict the UK’s ability to respond to the economic and political crises prompted by coronavirus. “It would also keep us bound by EU legislation at a point where we need economic and legislative flexibility to manage the UK response to the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. David Frost, the UK’s chief negotiator, tweeted that “extending would simply prolong negotiations, create even more uncertainty, leave us liable to pay more to the EU in future, and keep us bound by evolving EU laws at a time when we need to control our own affairs. In short, it is not in the UK's interest to extend”.

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