The Petition of residents of the constituency of North Ayrshire & Arran,
Declares that the current covid-19 pandemic should be the primary focus of the Government at this time rather than the withdrawal talks with the European Union; notes that the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast that the covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown could shrink the UK economy by 35% and that unemployment could rise by two million; further notes that the International Monetary Fund has stated that the crisis “dwarfs the losses that triggered the global financial crisis”, and that it is “very likely that this year the global economy will experience its worst recession since the Great Depression”; further notes that the Brexit transition timetable requires agreements to be reached with the European Union by 30 June; declares that the prospect of a “No Deal Brexit” remains and that this poses additional challenges to businesses already facing significant economic challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic; and further declares that any decision to stick to the current timetable, given the huge economic challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic, will have a devastating impact on people’s livelihoods, prosperity and the national good.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to seek an immediate extension to the Brexit transition period to avoid further unnecessary and severe economic harm to Scotland the entire UK.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Patricia Gibson, Official Report, 24 June 2020, Vol. 677, c. 1420.]
[P002584]
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.
Clearly, as the EU looks to deal with the impacts of coronavirus on the 27 member states, they will need to propose all kinds of new legislation which will obviously be designed for the 27, rather than being tailored in a way to suit the interests of the UK. We would still have to make payments into the EU budget during an extension to the transition period, instead of making that money available for our own recovery on the basis of what we decide is needed.
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.