Boris Johnson won’t extend Brexit transition period

Boris Johnson will warn the new European Commission president he is prepared to walk away from the EU without a trade deal.

New European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has suggested the timetable is ‘extremely short’. Picture: Reuters

Boris Johnson will warn the new European Commission president that he is prepared to walk away from the EU without a trade deal at the end of the year.

Taking an uncompromising stance, the British Prime Minister will tell Ursula von der Leyen that there are no circumstances under which the government would exten­d the transition period beyond­ December.

Under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, both sides have the option of requesting an extension of up to two years to the current trading relationship.

Ms von der Leyen has prev­iously suggested that the timetable is “extremely short” and the EU itself may need to ask for an extension to get a new agreement ratified by the 27 member states.

Talks between the two in Brussels on Thursday (AEDT) will have to cover not just the future trading relationship between ­Britain and the EU but a host of other potentially controversial issues­ including fishing rights, data protection, environmental rules and transport.

Formal negotiations are not expected to begin until March, after EU Europe ministers have signed off on the bloc’s negotiating mandate at the end of next month. On the EU side, the negotiations will be led again by Michel Bar­nier, while Mr Johnson is expected to put his chief Europe adviser, David Frost, in charge of the British­ team.

Thursday’s meeting will be the first one-to-one encounter between Mr Johnson and Ms von der Leyen since she took over from Jean-Claude Juncker last month.

The Prime Minister is also expected to tell the commission president that he is not prepared to sign up to any deal that obliges Britain to follow existing or new EU rules and regulations. He will say the upcoming negotiations will be based on an ambitious free-trade deal and not on alignment.

“He will tell President von der Leyen that, having waited for over three years to get Brexit done, both British and EU citizens rightly expect negotiations on an ambitious­ free-trade agreement to conclude on time,” a Downing Street spokesman said.

“There will be no extension to the implementation period, which will end in December 2020.”

Trade experts have questioned whether it will be possible to conclude­ an agreement covering all sectors of the economy in the time available.

However, Downing Street has not ruled out a series of interim agreements that could be put in place after 2020 to preserve elements of existing trade and co-operatio­n while a wider agreement is thrashed out.

It is also possible that Britain unilaterally agrees to follow EU rules to preserve existing trade but with the freedom to diverge if the government feels it is in the nationa­l interest.

In such circumstances, the EU would be able to impose restrict­ions on trade and tariffs to preserve­ the single market and protect EU businesses from unfair competition.

Despite the rhetoric from No 10 ahead of the meeting, both sides are expected to use it to underline their determination to maintain a close and friendly relationship after Brexit.

Ms von der Leyen was expected to use a speech at the London School of Economics on Wednesday to insist that Britain’s departure from the bloc is a new beginning, not an ending.

She will put an emphasis on the common fight against climate change as well as transport links, fisheries and security.

She will stress that, after ratification of the withdrawal agreement, the transition period is important for implementation, especial­ly of the Northern Ireland protocol.

The Times