https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po...39586.html
INTRO: The UK and EU are negotiating a trade deal and have until the end of the year to do it. If nothing is agreed by 1 January, the UK will crash out of the single market without a deal. That is, unless there’s an extension to the Brexit transition period Britain is currently in. It sounds simple, but there’s a catch: the deadline to agree such an extension to the transition is just a month away.
Battle-scarred from the last-minute decisions that characterised the first phase of Brexit talks, the UK and EU agreed to set the deadline for an extension six months in advance of the actual break, to avoid a cliff edge and give countries and businesses time to prepare for a no deal.
It was well-intentioned. Surely this would remove uncertainty? But it may end up doing exactly the opposite. There’s always been scepticism about whether the end of June really is a deadline. Of course, in EU law, it is absolutely the last time the transition can be extended. And the UK swears blind it won’t extend for any reason – as it did every other time until the last minute.
It’s also clear that Article 50, the terms under which the original deal was drawn up, is now useless to get Britain out of this situation – it only applies to departing member states, which the UK is no longer.
But where there’s a will, there is usually a way. A new report by experts at the Institute for Government spells out four ways the UK and EU could extend the transition once the June deadline has past... (MORE - details)
THE OPTIONS EXPLORED: [1] Change the date in the withdrawal agreement .... [2] Create a new transition period to begin on 1 January 2021 .... [3] Put an implementation phase in the future relationship treaty ... [4] Set up an implementation phase to prepare for no deal
ORIGINAL PAPER: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.u...-more-time
INTRO: The UK and EU are negotiating a trade deal and have until the end of the year to do it. If nothing is agreed by 1 January, the UK will crash out of the single market without a deal. That is, unless there’s an extension to the Brexit transition period Britain is currently in. It sounds simple, but there’s a catch: the deadline to agree such an extension to the transition is just a month away.
Battle-scarred from the last-minute decisions that characterised the first phase of Brexit talks, the UK and EU agreed to set the deadline for an extension six months in advance of the actual break, to avoid a cliff edge and give countries and businesses time to prepare for a no deal.
It was well-intentioned. Surely this would remove uncertainty? But it may end up doing exactly the opposite. There’s always been scepticism about whether the end of June really is a deadline. Of course, in EU law, it is absolutely the last time the transition can be extended. And the UK swears blind it won’t extend for any reason – as it did every other time until the last minute.
It’s also clear that Article 50, the terms under which the original deal was drawn up, is now useless to get Britain out of this situation – it only applies to departing member states, which the UK is no longer.
But where there’s a will, there is usually a way. A new report by experts at the Institute for Government spells out four ways the UK and EU could extend the transition once the June deadline has past... (MORE - details)
THE OPTIONS EXPLORED: [1] Change the date in the withdrawal agreement .... [2] Create a new transition period to begin on 1 January 2021 .... [3] Put an implementation phase in the future relationship treaty ... [4] Set up an implementation phase to prepare for no deal
ORIGINAL PAPER: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.u...-more-time