20 March 2018 - European Union and the UK agree to a Brexit transition period of 21 months
U.K. Reaches Brexit Transition Deal With E.U.
Stephen Castle (The New York Times, 19/03/2018)
British and European Union negotiators on Monday agreed on the terms of a 21-month transition period to keep Britain inside Europe’s economic structures and to avoid an economically damaging “cliff edge” when the country formally departs the bloc next March.
The transition accord was announced on Monday at a news conference in Brussels by David Davis, Britain’s main negotiator, and his European Union counterpart, Michel Barnier, who described it as a “decisive step” toward an orderly withdrawal, or Brexit.
The deal, however, depends on a broader agreement on Britain’s withdrawal, which is to be finalized this year but is by no means certain. One of the main sticking points in those talks has been the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, which will remain in the European Union.
European Union and the UK agree to a Brexit transition period of 21 months
Silvia Amaro (CNBC, 19/03/2018)
The U.K. will remain in the European Union until the end of 2020, but with restricted powers, officials announced Monday.
The EU and the United Kingdom have agreed to a transition process of 21 months — from 29 March 2019 until the end of 2020 — before the country leaves the member bloc completely.
During that period, the "U.K. will no longer participate in European decision-making procedures," the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters in Brussels Monday.
Theresa May under fire over Brexit transition deal
Daniel Boffey, Anushka Asthana and Lisa O'Carroll (The Guardian, 19/03/2018)
Theresa May faced a storm of protest over a transition deal struck with Brussels after conceding a series of her high-profile Brexit demands and agreeing to the “back stop” plan of keeping Northern Ireland under EU law to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.
After an intense few days of talks, the Brexit secretary, David Davis, lauded a provisional agreement on the terms of a 21-month period, ending on 31 December 2020, as a “significant” moment, giving businesses and citizens the reassurance they had demanded.
Under a joint withdrawal deal published on Monday, of which 75% is agreed, the UK will retain the benefits of the single market and customs union for “near enough to the two years we asked for”, Davis said, albeit while losing its role in any decision-making institutions.
Brexit deal sparks furious row over Scotland’s fishing industry
Paris Gourtsoyannis and Chris McCall (The Scostman, 20/03/2018)
A post-Brexit transition deal struck with Brussels has been condemned as a “sell-out” after it was revealed that the UK will have to abide by quotas imposed by Brussels in 2020.
The announcement sparked a furious row between Scottish Tories and Downing Street, with Ruth Davidson warning that her MPs could vote against the final Brexit deal unless it contains firm guarantees that the UK will take full control of fishing rights in its waters after 2020.
One Scottish Conservative MP compared the transition deal to a “pint of cold sick”.
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