The government should add a new paragraph to the exit bill to make it illegal for Parliament to extend this process beyond the end of next year.
The transition period after leaving the project, which should be completed in December 2020, can now be extended by mutual agreement of the parties for up to two years.
However, the bill to terminate the Amended Agreement by which Communities must vote this week will exclude any extension. Critics say this increases the chances of leaving the EU without concluding trade deals. But senior cabinet minister Michael Gove insisted that both the UK and the EU “commit themselves to a deal” by the end of 2020.
He also promised that parliament would be able to “deeply examine” the bill to withdraw from the agreement. Brexit shadow secretary Sir Kir Starmer said the move was “reckless and irresponsible”, and he claimed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was “ready to put people at risk”. Downing Street said the government plans to call on the new parliament to hold its first debate and vote on the withdrawal agreement Friday, the legislation needed to ratify Brexit.
After that, on December 31, until the end of the transition period, the government will have time to negotiate a free trade agreement with Brussels before trade relations are violated under the terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
EU senior officials, including Michel Barnier, chief negotiator of the bloc, are skeptical that an agreement can be reached during this time.