Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
They are currently at the document-exchanging stage. The government is still commited to the end of the year as things stand. Everything else is speculation.
---------- Post added at 18:17 ---------- Previous post was at 18:15 ----------
Still speculating against the government, I see.  |
I rarely say this, but it’s well worth saying now: I agree with Jfman wholeheartedly on this point.
An extension to the transition would be a very significant move, following a decision taken by the PM and the EU representatives, and not flagged in advance for all sorts of reasons. It certainly isn’t going to be announced in a public health crisis press conference by a deputy while the Prime Minister is getting over a life-threatening infection in hospital.
An extension is not going to happen, right up to the moment that it is. At which point it will be announced on Boris Johnson’s terms. I believe the government negotiators will continue to work on the assumption that the original deadline stands, but informal contact with the EU on the extension issue will have been made. I also believe that when the extension is announced it will amount to 6-9 months.
There’s almost certainly going to be an extension because no government in Europe presently has the resources to meet the original deadline with a good trade deal in place. This is not a betrayal, it is just realpolitik, caused by the small matter of the worst global pandemic for a century.