Deputy Irish Premier Simon Coveney has said the Covid-19 pandemic has made the timeline for a UK-EU trade deal “virtually impossible”.
The UK Government has insisted the transition period will not be extended beyond 2020, despite officials in London and Brussels admitting there has been little progress in the two rounds of formal talks held so far.
December 31 is the deadline for the end of the transition period unless the UK agrees by June to extend it.
READ MORE: Ian Blackford tells Boris Johnson to stop 'blind Brexit dogma' and extend Brexit transition for two years
Mr Coveney said the Covid-19 pandemic means the UK should seek an extension and progress so far this year has been much slower than the EU had hoped for.
“Covid-19 has made what is already a very, very difficult timeline to get agreement virtually impossible,” the Tanaiste said.
“Given the added complications of Covid-19 it surely makes sense to seek a bit more time to navigate our way through these very difficult waters in the months ahead so that we can get a good outcome for the UK and EU.”
Asked if the UK Government could be persuaded to extend the timeline, he said: “I think anybody looking at this from the outside could only conclude it makes sense to look for more time but the British Government has decided that’s not what they want and they have made that very clear both publicly and privately.
“I wouldn’t be raising expectations around the British Government agreeing to seeking more time.
“If we’re going to have any chance of persuading them to take more time then we need to be careful about how we do that because demanding it from them … almost as a concession to the EU, is certainly not the way to do it.”
Mr Coveney was speaking at a video-conferencing seminar on the EU hosted by the International Institute of European Affairs (IIEA) on Friday.
He said the UK wants to “break free from the EU” and forge its own future.
“Talking about the UK being fully autonomous, protecting sovereignty … I get that language, that is what has driven Brexit in many ways,” he said.
“Breaking free from the European Union, not being a rule taker, that’s fine from a political narrative perspective.
“But you can’t have quota-free, tariff-free trade unless there is a level playing field.
“The EU can just never facilitate that and why would they … This is essentially the crux of the issue and if we can’t resolve it, there isn’t going to be a deal.”
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon "considering" relaxation of lockdown exercise restrictions
He warned the Covid-19 pandemic means the “the path ahead is not clear” for the future of the bloc.
“This is a profound shock that has a direct impact on the life of every European,” he said.
“Even after the virus is defeated, its aftershocks and the new constraints it imposes will define what member states and the union do for the next decade.”
In terms of Brexit, he said June will be a “key moment” in the negotiations.
“Two further negotiating rounds will take place in the coming weeks,” he said.
“Michel Barnier has been very clear that we need to see much better engagement from the UK in these rounds.”
“At a high level Conference, the EU and UK will jointly consider the progress made at that point and what this means for the period after. The end of June is also the last point at which the Joint Committee can decide to extend the transition period.
“This would have to be a decision made by the EU and UK jointly.”
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