Extension of the Brexit transition period
The petition of residents of Glasgow East constituency,
Declares that current Coronavirus pandemic should be the primary focus of Her Majesty’s Government at this time; believes it is deeply unhelpful that the prospect of a No Deal cliff edge on 30th June remains on the negotiating table with Brussels and considers that local businesses could get through the inevitable Coronavirus recession without having extra uncertainty or new rules and red tape to get used to at the end of the year.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges Her Majesty’s Government to seek an immediate extension to the Brexit transition period without delay.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by David Linden, Official Report, 03 June 2020; Vol. 676, c. 974 .]
[P002567]
Observations from The Paymaster General (Penny Mordaunt):
The transition period ends on 31 December 2020, as enshrined in UK law. The Government will not be extending the transition period.
An extension would bind us into future EU legislation, without us having any say in designing it. We would continue to have to make large payments to the EU. We need to be able to design our own rules, in our best interests, to manage our response to coronavirus, without the constraints of following EU rules.
We left the EU on 31 January on the basis of a deal, the withdrawal agreement. The issue that now faces both us and the EU is what kind of trading relationship, and other forms of co-operation, we will have in future.
At the high-level meeting on Monday 15 June the Prime Minister and the three EU leaders took stock of progress, and they recognised the UK’s decision not to request an extension to the transition period.
They agreed that new momentum was required, and they supported the chief negotiators’ plans to intensify talks in July and create the most conducive conditions for concluding and ratifying a deal before the end of 2020. They agreed to work hard to deliver a relationship that works for all UK and EU citizens, and confirmed their commitment to the full and timely implementation of the withdrawal agreement.
We need to conclude this negotiation in good time to enable people and businesses to have certainty about the trading terms that will follow the end of the transition period at the end of this year, and, if necessary, to allow ratification of any agreements reached.