First Minister and the Welsh First
Minster have written to the Prime
Minister to request an extended Brexit transition period to
complete negotiations and support businesses through recovery
from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The joint letter reiterates that an extension is essential to
avoid needless damage to Scotland’s economy at a time when
COVID-19 is hitting businesses when they are most vulnerable.
The transition period is scheduled to finish on 31 Dec 2020 but
can be extended by mutual agreement provided a decision is
taken by 1 July.
Ms Sturgeon and Mr Drakeford said:
“Without an extension to the transition period, at very best
there will only be a damaging ‘bare bones’ trade deal or even
worse, a disastrous no deal outcome. We are mindful that the
Withdrawal Agreement only permits an extension of the
transition period if this has been agreed before the end of
June.
“At the time the Withdrawal Agreement was signed, no-one could
have imagined the enormous economic dislocation which the
COVID-19 pandemic has caused – in Wales, Scotland, the whole of
the UK, in the EU and across the world.
“While we hope that the second half of this year will see the
beginnings of a recovery, we believe that exiting the
transition period at the end of the year would be
extraordinarily reckless. It would pile a further very
significant economic and social shock on top of the COVID-19
crisis, hitting businesses whose reserves, in many case, have
already been exhausted, leading to more business closures and
redundancies. But in this case, the shock would be
avoidable.
“No-one could reproach the UK Government for changing its
position in the light of the wholly unforeseeable COVID-19
crisis, particularly as the EU has made it clear it is open to
an extension request. We therefore call on you to take the
final opportunity which the next few weeks provide to ask for
an extension to the transition period in order to provide a
breathing space to complete the negotiations, to implement the
outcome, and to give our businesses the opportunity to find
their feet after the enormous disruption of recent months.”
