Boris Johnson says 'no Brexit extension' despite coronavirus emergency
Boris Johnson has said there is ‘no talk’ of extending the Brexit transition period despite the coronavirus crisis.
The outbreak has cancelled trade talks between the EU and the UK but the British Prime Minister said the deadline remained December 31.
On Wednesday evening, both sides exchanged draft legal texts for the future relationship.
Britain was understood to have shared a negotiating document detailing a desired free trade agreement, plans for aviation safety and a civil nuclear agreement.
The PM’s Europe adviser David Frost and Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier were due to resume talks on Wednesday, but had these scuppered by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Negotiations were expected to get back on track next week, but there was an acknowledgement they could no longer take place in person.
There have been calls to extend the transition period after Europe was declared the epicentre of the epidemic.
The end of year deadline was always considered an ambitious goal but now borders across the 27-nation bloc have been shut and entire countries placed in lockdown.
Addressing the issue during his press conference, Mr Johnson was asked about a delay.
He pointed out that the current law prevented ministers from asking for an extension.
He said: ‘It’s not a subject that’s being regularly discussed, I can tell you, in Downing Street at the moment,” he told reporters.
‘There is legislation in place that I have no intention of changing.’
The Government had no plans to publish the draft treaty, whereas the EU’s version had leaked to various media outlets ahead of it being shared with the UK.
‘We are sharing ours in confidence as a negotiating document, as part of the ongoing negotiating process,” a Government spokeswoman said.
‘Teams will now analyse each other’s texts and we expect further conversations between the teams next week.
‘We will keep under review which documents it is appropriate to publish during the course of negotiations and whether it is useful to make them available more widely.’
The UK officially left the bloc at 11pm on January 31 and has now entered a transition period until the end of the year.
The first round of talks was held in Brussels earlier this month and both sides remain far from any kind of agreement about the future relationship.
The UK wants a ‘Canada-style’ free trade agreement while Brussels has called for a closer relationship.
The sticking points continue to be rows over fishing and the future role of the European Court of Justice.
Mr Johnson had set a deadline of June for the two sides to make progress and has threatened to walk away.
If talks continue to be delayed, it could have huge consequences on the likelihood of the UK crashing out at the end of the year without a trade deal.
Leaving without a deal risks plunging the UK into recession and figures released before the coronavirus crisis suggested that the UK economy had unexpectedly flatlined.
On Wednesday evening, both sides exchanged draft legal texts for the future relationship.
Britain was understood to have shared a negotiating document detailing a desired free trade agreement, plans for aviation safety and a civil nuclear agreement.
The PM’s Europe adviser David Frost and Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier were due to resume talks on Wednesday, but had these scuppered by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Negotiations were expected to get back on track next week, but there was an acknowledgement they could no longer take place in person.
There have been calls to extend the transition period after Europe was declared the epicentre of the epidemic.
The end of year deadline was always considered an ambitious goal but now borders across the 27-nation bloc have been shut and entire countries placed in lockdown.
Addressing the issue during his press conference, Mr Johnson was asked about a delay.
He pointed out that the current law prevented ministers from asking for an extension.
He said: ‘It’s not a subject that’s being regularly discussed, I can tell you, in Downing Street at the moment,” he told reporters.
‘There is legislation in place that I have no intention of changing.’
The Government had no plans to publish the draft treaty, whereas the EU’s version had leaked to various media outlets ahead of it being shared with the UK.
‘We are sharing ours in confidence as a negotiating document, as part of the ongoing negotiating process,” a Government spokeswoman said.
‘Teams will now analyse each other’s texts and we expect further conversations between the teams next week.
‘We will keep under review which documents it is appropriate to publish during the course of negotiations and whether it is useful to make them available more widely.’
The UK officially left the bloc at 11pm on January 31 and has now entered a transition period until the end of the year.
The first round of talks was held in Brussels earlier this month and both sides remain far from any kind of agreement about the future relationship.
The UK wants a ‘Canada-style’ free trade agreement while Brussels has called for a closer relationship.
The sticking points continue to be rows over fishing and the future role of the European Court of Justice.
Mr Johnson had set a deadline of June for the two sides to make progress and has threatened to walk away.
If talks continue to be delayed, it could have huge consequences on the likelihood of the UK crashing out at the end of the year without a trade deal.
Leaving without a deal risks plunging the UK into recession and figures released before the coronavirus crisis suggested that the UK economy had unexpectedly flatlined.