THE UK Government has knocked back a call from Michael Russell, who wants the Brexit transition period to be extended for the maximum delay of two years because of the need to focus on the battle against the coronavirus.
A spokeswoman made clear Boris Johnson had “no intention” of extending the period set for the trade talks with the European Union, which resume this afternoon.
Downing Street said it expected the latest round of negotiations to be "constructive" with the "aim of making progress" ahead of a high-level meeting expected in June to review the progress that has been made.
The Prime Minister's spokesman said talks would take place via video conference today and conclude on Friday.
Topics will include trade, transport, law enforcement, energy, governance, fisheries, social security co-ordination and level playing field provisions.
The spokesman said: "This week we expect further constructive talks with the aim of making progress ahead of June, building on the talks to date which have identified the major areas where we agree and disagree.
"The next two rounds are due to take place in the weeks starting May 11 and June 1."
Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Brexit transition period can be extended for up to two years if a request is made before June 30.
READ MORE: Chancellor Rishi Sunak fast-tracks introduction of UK Govt furlough scheme to help save jobs
The Scottish Government’s Constitution Secretary has demanded an urgent joint meeting of ministers from the UK Government and the three devolved administrations to discuss the matter.
"Instead of its reckless decision to pursue a hard Brexit in the middle of this unprecedented crisis, the UK Government should today be asking the EU for the maximum two-year extension to the transition period,” declared Mr Russell.
"The benefits of co-ordinated European action have never been clearer. An extended transition will keep the UK as close as possible to the EU and provide an opportunity to rethink the future relationship.
"The UK Government is pressing ahead with negotiations without properly involving the Scottish Government or taking account of our views," he insisted.
The Scottish Cabinet minister added: "The Scottish economy cannot afford the double hit of Covid-19 and the growing likelihood of a no-deal or at best a hard Brexit deal in less than nine months' time.
"The voices of all four UK nations must be heard and I am, therefore, calling for an urgent meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee[European Negotiations], which has the task of overseeing negotiations. Clearly, if it does not meet, it cannot oversee."
But a UK Government spokeswoman said: "Our top priority as a Government is to slow the spread of the coronavirus, protect the NHS and keep people safe; we are working around the clock to do so with all four nations together providing unprecedented financial support for businesses, workers and the self-employed.
"We remain fully committed to the negotiations and the second round is taking place by video conference this week.
"The transition period ends on December 31 2020, as enshrined in UK law, which the Prime Minister has made clear he has no intention of changing," she added.
Talks involving David Frost, Mr Johnson’s chief negotiator, and Michel Barnier, his EU counterpart, are due to resume today. The Government has made clear that it will take stock of the progress of the talks by the end of June to see if they are worth pursuing further.
Senior Labour and Liberal Democrat figures have also urged the Conservative Government to put back the transition so the UK and the EU can focus on fighting the pandemic.
Mr Russell’s call to extend the transition comes as a new opinion poll of over 2,000 people, commissioned by the anti-Brexit Best for Britain campaign and HOPE not hate, found that two-thirds of the public disagreed with the Government's policy not to extend the transition period, including nearly half of Conservative and Leave voters.
Naomi Smith, Best for Britain’s Chief Executive, said: "Given the huge amount of harm being done by the virus to the economy and the country's health, most people will be wondering why the government is splitting its focus to conduct Brexit talks.
"Right now, there is no bigger priority than coronavirus, and nothing should be distracting the Government's attention.
"That is particularly the case for these talks, which can be extended to give both the UK and the EU room for manoeuvre. The Government must unchain itself from the December 31 transition exit date, so that it has the ability to properly focus on ridding the country of coronavirus," she added.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel