UK Prime Minister Theresa May said today that she had already put forward on a proposal for avoiding a hard Irish border to the EU. Meanwhile, “a further idea that has emerged – and it is an idea at this stage – is to create an option to extend the implementation period for a matter of months – and it would only be for a matter of months.” But she emphasized that “this is not expected to be used, because we are working to ensure that we have that future relationship in place by the end of December 2020.”
The extension is believed to be a proposal put forward by EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier. Under the proposal, both sides could commit to a free trade agreement by the end of 2021. That is, a year of extension in the transition period. And, only if the FTA failed to deliver so called “frictionless” trade would the Irish backstop come into action. Barnier believed that the extension would unlock the stalled debate on Irish border backstop while there would be enough time for the trade deal.
However, the idea of extending the implementation period would catch furious responses from Brexiteers. That would effectively mean another year of EU budget payments as well as continued free movements.
