Boris Johnson will make it illegal to extend Brexit transition period beyond 2020
BORIS Johnson will make it illegal to extend the Brexit transition period beyond the end of next year as he fired the opening salvo to the crucial trade talks with the EU.
The PM will include the provision in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) when he brings it back to the Commons for the crucial vote on Friday.
The WAB will finally implement Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal so Britain leaves the EU on January 31, triggering an 11-month ‘implementation period’ whereby EU rules will still apply here but the UK will have no role in making decisions.
The WAB states that the transition period – due to end in December 2020 – can be prolonged by up to two years if both sides agree.
But senior No10 sources said last night that the PM will use his new 80-seat majority to enshrine in law that any extension will be outlawed. It means Britain will definitely be free of EU rules by January 2021 unless a new law is passed to repeal the provision.
The move is designed to call the EU’s bluff ahead of the start of negotiations over Britain’s future trading relationship with Brussels.
It means Mr Johnson could not prolong trade negotiations even if he wanted to and stops Brussels winding down the clock on trade negotiations to force Britain into accepting an extension.
And it fulfills a key plank of the Tory election manifesto, which promised voters: “We will not extend the implementation period beyond December 2020.”
Last night a Downing Street source said: “The WAB will legally prohibit the Government from agreeing to any extension. Promises will be made, promises will be kept.”
‘PROMISES WILL BE KEPT’
Downing Street said: “The Prime Minister has said he will be aiming for a Canada-style free trade agreement with no political alignment. The PM has set out the importance of our right to set out our own rules, like the rest of the world does.
“I’m not going to go into the details of the negotiation.
“The focus now is on passing the WAB to allow us to leave by January 31, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“The Prime Minister has said he will be aiming for a Canada-style free trade agreement with no political alignment. The PM has set out the importance of our right to set out our own rules, like the rest of the world does.
“I’m not going to go into the details of the negotiation.
“The focus now is on passing the WAB to allow us to leave by January 31, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Mr Johnson has vowed to strike a Free Trade Agreement with the EU within just 11-months despite EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier warning the timeframe wasn’t long enough.
Making it illegal to extend the transition period increases the risk of UK/EU trade reverting to basic World Trade Organisation rules – hiking tariffs and customs red tape.
The shot across the EU’s bows came as No10 confirmed that new law to protect and strengthen existing EU workers’ rights will be included in Thursday’s Queen’s Speech, which sets out the Government’s legislative agenda for the next 12 months.
A similar bill to protect existing EU environmental standards is also expected to be included.
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