European Union may extend UK’S Brexit transition period
LONDON : The UK and the European Union are inching towards a plan that could help unblock Brexit negotiations and clear the path to a deal, raising hopes of progress after months of stalemate.
While the EU summit in Brussels fell far short of the breakthrough it was long touted to be, a glimmer of hope emerged from the gloom that has descended on the process in recent weeks.
The idea that’s breathing new life into the negotiations is an old one: take more time to do the deal. But it’s a risky one for May -- members of her Conservative Party have angrily criticised her and foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said cabinet ministers have ‘lots of concerns.’
Both the EU and Britain now think there’s merit in keeping the UK inside the bloc’s full membership rules for longer after it formally leaves, with an option to extend the 21-month transition period that’s due to end in December 2020.
That would give negotiators more time to resolve the biggest obstacle that’s blocking the road to a deal: how to avoid customs checks at the border between the UK and Ireland.
“There will be more difficult moments as we enter the final stages of the talks,” Prime Minister Theresa May told reporters in Brussels. “But I am convinced that we will secure a good deal that is in the interests of the UK and of the European Union.”
The move is a gamble for may, who doesn’t have a parliamentary majority and has fought off threats to her leadership for more than a year. However, probrexit rebels acknowledge that they do not have the numbers to oust her.
When the leaders gathered in the Belgian capital on Wednesday, they were determined to avoid another diplomatic catastrophe like Salzburg, Austria.
May’s 15-minute address to her fellow leaders before dinner didn’t impress, and left some of them confused and frustrated. But she showed a willingness to move her position, and the EU has too, according to officials on both sides. May signalled that she was open to extending the transition period to help solve the problem of the Irish border. In return, the EU has agreed to engage with May’s proposal for a so called backstop guarantee to avoid customs checks on the Uk-ireland border - which would involve keeping the whole UK inside the EU’S customs regime. According to an EU official, the bloc decided that time is running out and they can’t afford any more breakdowns. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the leaders pledged on Wednesday to do ‘everything to find a solution.’ May said her proposal was an attempt to solve the issue of the Irish border, which has stumped negotiators for more than a year.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the summit, other leaders voiced their optimism about the prospects for progress, echoing May’s confidence.