Transition must end by 2023, EU says

The UK’S post-brexit transition out of the EU should end by 2023, the European Commission has said.

The date was proposed at a meeting between the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and ambassadors from the other 27 EU states in Brussels on Sunday.

Mr Barnier told EU ambassadors the UK was seeking a free-trade area covering goods and including a ‘common rule book’ as part of its future relationship with Brussels, an issue continues to divide member states.

The EU’S chief negotiator is reported to have described the political situation in the UK as “volatile”.

An extension of the transition is seen as particularly problematic for Scottish Conservative MPS, who worry it could see the UK remain bound by EU fishing rules for years after Brexit.