UK formally rejects Brexit transition period extension

The U.K. Friday formally confirmed it will not seek an extension of the Brexit transition period beyond December 31, British Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said.

Gove spoke with European Commission Vice President MaroÅ¡ Å efčovič and EU negotiator Michel Barnier at the second meeting of the EU-U.K. Joint Committee on implementing the Withdrawal Agreement earlier today, where he reiterated Downing Street’s refusal.

The Joint Committee had to decide by the end of the month on whether to extend the status quo transition. However, there are no more meetings of the commitee planned until September, meaning the EU takes the U.K.’s decision “as a definite conclusion of this discussion,” Å efčovič told journalists after the meeting.

“I have taken note of the position of the U.K. on this issue and have stated, as President Ursula von der Leyen did earlier, that the EU remains open to such an extension,” Å efčovič said. However, he added: “We take this decision as a definitive one.”

“In this context, we both agreed on accelerating the implementation of Withdrawal Agreement and to accelerate our work,” the EU vice president said.

While today’s meeting took place in a “very good atmosphere,” Å efčovič warned there is still lots of work to do on implementing the different aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement, especially the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. He added that the U.K. has not provided sufficient detail on how the protocol will work in practice.

“We need to move from aspiration to operation, and fast.”

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