United Kingdom to Stick to The Brexit Schedule Despite Calls for An Extension

“The United Kingdom will adhere to the Brexit deadline no matter what the circumstances are”. This is the message that Irish Finance minister Paschal Donohoe’s statement portrayed in a news conference held after he met the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on 9^th April 2020. The minister further stated that the United Kingdom would push for a free trade agreement with the European Union by the end of 2020, even though the talks are currently suspended by the two sides due to the pandemic and its devastating impact. It is to be remembered here that a total agreement regarding the modalities of Brexit couldn’t be arrived at till the date of 31 January 2020, when the United Kingdom finally pulled out of the European Union, and it was agreed upon then to carry out negotiations after the pullout was over. However, the Breakout of the Coronavirus pandemic led to many of the scheduled and unscheduled events being cancelled in Europe, leading to the postponement of scheduled Brexit negotiation engagements as well. In view of the above situation, several parliamentarians from the European Union had requested the British government to extend the Brexit deadline for which a formal reply from the British side was awaited till now. The Coronavirus pandemic has battered the European Economy very badly in the past two months leading to widespread measures being undertaken by several sides to mitigate the fallout, the proposed extension of Brexit date was one of such proposed measures.

The pullout of the United Kingdom from the European Union was a very difficult exercise, to begin with. Should the pandemic salutation permit, the Brexit negotiations would most likely resume again on 1^st of July 2020. Previously it was to be held in the last week of March 2020, but the way the pandemic situation evolved, and major parts of Europe went into lockdown, the scheduled meeting had to be put off. The idea of putting off the tentative date of Brexit has more supporters in European Union than in the United Kingdom, to begin with as many of the smaller countries in the Union benefited more with the United Kingdom being a member of the Union. However, despite the gravity of the current situation well professed by both the sides, the British side seems to be keener on the pullout process being completed on time as it has chalked out a massive expansion plan to drive its economy into a growth phase, which would put the United Kingdom among the top economies of the world. Boris Johnson, the current prime minister, has been an ardent supporter of the British pullout and had promised the country during his poll campaign that he would sign in a far more lucrative deal than the European Union agreement. The new trade deal which is being currently chalked upon with the United States that will leapfrog the country’s economy several notches ahead of where its European counterparts are standing now. In furtherance to its poll promises the new government has presented a massive spending budget on 11^th of March, with public expenditure announcements worth £640 billion. The funds meant to be spent over the next few years will go into rebuilding the infrastructure in the country and retraining its citizens in advanced technologies and other sciences so as to make the country future ready and keep it at the forefront of all technological and economic advancements that will come about in the future.

Both the United Kingdom and the European Union have been engaged in a prolonged and sometimes bitter negotiations regarding the modalities of the pullout during the past three years. It was on account of the disagreements between negotiators of both sides that the whole region was subjected to a phase of economic turmoil, causing massive distress to businesses and citizens of both the sides. Now after the Brexit becoming effective, the opportunity for concluding the deal has arrived, the danger of the pandemic evolved, which raised itself to the fore and has pulled the entire region into recession. To conclude the deal or even implementing the partially agreed parts of the deal will be very difficult now without tendering a shock to the entire eurozone region. The European Parliament members in the final few days of March were under the belief that it will be in the best of interest of both the parties if the tentative pullout for Brexit be shifted from 31 January 2020 to a later date, to be between one and two years from now.

In the recent past, the British government has taken a slew of measures to protect the British business and jobs from the pandemic onslaught. The measures range from providing cash injection in the form of part salary payment of staff for small and medium sized businesses to bank guarantees for large corporates so that they can continue to pay their bills and salaries to their staff members. The different measures also include forgoing VAT payments for a quarter and a host of other concessions and regulatory relaxations so that the British businesses have an elbow space to fight the pandemic impacts. The British government perhaps believes that taking a step back in these circumstances would do more harm to the economy than doing any good and most importantly it should be the one making decisions for the economy in this delicate situation than taking dictates from the European Union.

The Coronavirus pandemic has also led to restricted movement of people and goods within the European Union. Commodities like components, machinery parts and semi-finished goods which have been curtailed due to the discontinuation of production activity on both sides, need to be transported with priority. Also, the general merchandise, which is either waiting in warehouses of some countries need to reach to their destinations as soon as possible. A concession in transportation-related regulations or perhaps a forgoing of customs on the movement of these will go a long way in restoring the already excruciatingly painful situation in the Eurozone. The region now faces the risk of a massive surge in unemployment’s levels which could take the region into a long drawn recessionary cycle. The Policymakers in the United Kingdom government are mindful of that and could very well come out with a plan to deal with the same.

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