If the EU asks for an extension to the Brexit transition period due to the Coronavirus pandemic, following the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) advise, the UK would refuse.
“We will not ask to extend the transition period, and if the EU asks we will say no,” a Downing Street spokesperson said on Thursday, adding that the country will not accept the European laws still applying in the UK, as it seeks “legislative and economic flexibility” to mitigate the Coronavirus impact on the country.
Prolonging the December 31 deadline would bring “uncertainty” to businesses in the UK and “lack of control” of the country’s borders, the statement reads.
Post-Brexit trade talks on the future relationship of the two sides have been delayed by the Coronavirus outbreak, as both EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and UK’s PM Boris Johnson had tested positive for Covid-19, with the British PM spending almost a week at London’s St.Thomas hospital, including two days in intensive care.
The two sides held a “constructive” videoconference meeting on April 15, during which, they agreed three negotiating rounds for a post-Brexit deal. EU’s Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost announced that the upcoming meetings will be held on April 20, May 11 and June 1 through videoconference.
The same day, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva said that the UK should reconsider the transition period agreed with the EU and ask for an extension, to ease “uncertainty” as the Coronavirus pandemic is crushing the world’s economies. A no-deal Brexit would hit the UK economy by 5%, Georgieva warned last autumn.
