Transition period will end on December 31, Britain’s position remains unchanged, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed
The United Kingdom is still not going to extend the transition period in its relations with the European Union after Brexit, which is valid until the end of this year. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.
“The transition period will end on 31 December. Our position remains unchanged”, – ITV quoted the prime minister’s spokesman as saying. The office at 10 Downing Street thus commented on calls by a number of politicians, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, to extend the transition period between the UK and the EU in order to concentrate more on fighting the spread of the new variant of the coronavirus in the country at the moment rather than reaching agreement on a future relationship, which the sides are trying to conclude before the year ends.
The UK left the EU on the night of 1 February 2020 after three years of consultation on the terms of exit. Brussels and London have agreed a transition period until the end of this year, during which the United Kingdom is subject to all European rules, including those related to trade under single market rules. Before the end of the transition period, which the British government has refused to extend, the parties must agree on the format of future relations and conclude a free trade agreement.
For the past few weeks, British authorities have been talking about the EU’s unwillingness to make concessions on two “fundamental issues” in which London considers Brussels’ demands to be an infringement of its sovereignty. The first is the allocation of fishing quotas in the UK’s exclusive economic zone at the end of the transition period after Brexit. The United Kingdom is pushing for a substantial increase for the British fishing industry.