Brexit deal in place ‘by end of March’

Brexit Secretary David Davis said on Wednesday that the United Kingdom should have a transitional deal with the European Union in place “before the end of March”.

Agence France-Presse reported that the deal will set out how the UK and the EU will work together after Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019. The deal will last until 2020 or 2021.

Britain has already said it wants to abide by the EU’s rules for two years after it leaves the union, to make the transition orderly, and MPs recently approved copying four decades of EU laws into British statute books, a decision that still needs approval from the House of Lords.

“I’m relaxed about transition because my primary concern is about the future relationship. That’s what matters, that’s what people will judge us on in 10, 20, 30 years time,” AFP quoted him as saying.

Davis said Britain will “be replicating to a very large extent the operations of the single market and customs union” during the transition period and will also continue to respect the European Court of Justice — the EJC.

He conceded that Britain might have to abide by new rules handed down by the EU during the transition, without helping to draft them.

The Independent newspaper suggested he will face a backlash from MPs, including many in his own Conservative party.

MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is talked about as a future leader of the party, said: “If, on March 30, 2019, the UK is subject to the ECJ, takes new rules relating to the single market, and is paying into the European budget, are we not a vassal state?”

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has spoken out in the past against the UK accepting new rules after leaving the EU.

The BBC reported on Thursday that Davis will flesh out his vision for the transitional period on Friday, highlighting the nation’s ability to negotiate trade deals during that time.

The Daily Mail reported that the prospect of a trade deal to eclipse the one Britain had with the EU is likely be high on Prime Minister Theresa May’s agenda when she visits Beijing next week.