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The Government agrees to pursue a status quo transition

Following CBI recommendations, the government has agreed the post-Brexit transition as part of the Withdrawal Agreement.

29 Sep 2017, 1 min read

In July 2017, the CBI called on the government to deliver a status quo transition period after Brexit. 40 days after the CBI made this call, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the government would adopt a status quo transition period from March 2019 to December 2020.

This was then formally adopted by EU negotiators in March 2018 as part of the withdrawal agreement.

It is a significant win for business, working to prevent the cliff-edge that could prove detrimental to firms across the UK.

The Prime Minister speaks about this transition period in her Florence speech: read the full transcript here.

It is also the case that people and businesses – both in the UK and in the EU – would benefit from a period to adjust to the new arrangements in a smooth and orderly way.

Clearly people, businesses and public services should only have to plan for one set of changes in the relationship between the UK and the EU.

So during the implementation period access to one another’s markets should continue on current terms and Britain also should continue to take part in existing security measures. And I know businesses, in particular, would welcome the certainty this would provide.
— Theresa May, Prime Minister