THE EU will refuse to rush through a Brexit trade deal despite Boris Johnsons 2020 deadline, the Irish deputy PM has warned.
Irelands deputy PM Simon Coveney declared that the EU will not be rushed as he branded Mr Johnsons timeframe ambitious if not unrealistic.
Mr Johnsons Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which passed the Commons this week, makes any extension to the transition period beyond December 2020 illegal.
It is designed to show Brussels he is resolute in his refusal to prolong trade talks beyond this year.
But Irelands deputy PM Simon Coveney hit out at Mr Johnsons policy yesterday.
Returning to the fractious rhetoric that characterised much of the previous phase of Brexit talks, he declared: “I know that Prime Minister Johnson has set a very ambitious timetable to get this done.
He has even put it into British law, but just because a British parliament decides that British laws say something doesn’t mean that that law applies to the other 27 countries of the European Union and so the European Union will approach this on the basis of getting the best deal possible – a fair and balanced deal to ensure the EU and the UK can interact as friends in the future.
“But the EU will not be rushed on this just because Britain passes law.”
A No10 source responded to Mr Coveney by saying: From our perspective theres ample time to get this done by the end of the year.
Tory Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen said the EUs repeated talk of extending the transition period was unsurprising.
He said: While were still in the transition period were still paying in and were still under their control.
The last thing they want is us to leave. But at the end of the day, theyll want a deal or they wont. If the US want a deal and the EU dont, then thats their loss.
