UK: Johnson to rule out extending transition period

LONDON

The new government under Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not extend the transition period designed to keep Britain aligned with the EU until a trade agreement between the sides is reached, according to government plans made public.

Michael Gove, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, confirmed Tuesday that the transition period, which is to expire in 2020, will not be extended and a law will ensure that.

“Our manifesto made clear that we will not extend the implementation period and the new withdrawal agreement bill will legally prohibit government agreeing to any extension,” local media also quoted a Downing Street source as saying Monday.

Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Gove said the revised withdrawal agreement will come to parliament on Friday for a second reading – a stage of legislation – and its legislation will be completed in January.

“We are going to leave the European Union on 31 January because of the withdrawal agreement,” Gove told a BBC morning news program.

“And then the political declaration, which goes alongside the withdrawal agreement, commits both sides to making sure that the follow-up conversations are concluded by the end of 2020.”

He said the government will "make sure we get this deal done in time,” saying: “We will get a deal and the political declaration commits both sides to that.”

The move by Johnson to make his manifesto promise legally binding was debated during the Conservative’s successful election campaign. The opposition have said outlawing an extension would increase the chance of a crash out of the EU on Dec. 31, 2020.

Under current plans, the U.K. will leave the EU on Jan. 31, 2020, simultaneously kicking off a transition period of 11 months. Under the original revised deal by Johnson with the bloc, the transition period has an extension option beyond the end of 2020, should the trade talks go beyond next year.

The new Cabinet, after a minor post-election reshuffle, will meet Tuesday to discuss business before the holiday season starts next week.

With 43.6% of the votes, Johnson’s Conservative Party last week won a landslide victory of 365 seats in the House of Commons. The number is well beyond the 326 seats needed for any party to hold an outright majority in parliament and form a government.

The U.K. decided to leave the EU in a referendum held in June 2016.