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British Home Affairs Minister Priti Patel has clearly rejected the wish of top EU MPs to extend the Brexit transition period. When asked if there were plans to extend the transition period, he told Sky News: “They don’t exist.”
The vice-president of the Parliament, Katarina Barley (SPD), had previously told the publishing network Germany (RND) that it would be sensible to examine a possible agreement “in peace”. The EU’s hand for a temporary extension of the transition phase is “always out”. It is up to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson “to take that hand now,” Barley said. The previous transition period, during which Great Britain remains fully part of the internal market despite its exit from the EU, expires at the end of the year.
The EU and the UK continue negotiations
The head of the Brexit group in the European Parliament, David McAllister (CDU), told the RND: “We want to take all necessary measures to minimize distortions for our citizens and businesses. We are also concerned about the critical situation surrounding the coronavirus. “It is about” working constructively and pragmatically on viable solutions. “
Negotiators from the EU and the UK continued their trade deal negotiations on Monday. The EU Parliament declared that the timely ratification of a possible agreement is no longer feasible. So an agreement would have to enter into force temporarily without ratification, which is possible.
Time is running out for trade deals
The main points of contention in the negotiations for months have been fair competition, control over the implementation of a future agreement and access to British waters for EU fishermen. While significant progress had recently been made on the first two hotspots, the fisheries issue remained difficult to the end.
Britain left the EU on February 1. In order to avoid serious consequences for the economy at the end of the current transition period before the end of the year, a trade agreement should be negotiated by then.
The deadline set by the EU Parliament for a finished text expired Sunday night. Should an agreement be reached in the next few days, it may enter into force on a provisional basis and only be ratified later. However, time is running out for that too: EU circles said that the provisional application of a deal from January 1 would only be feasible if an agreement was reached before Christmas.
