Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 September 2019
57. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the EU ministers discussed extending the longer period of transition by consent instead of a hard Brexit on 31 October 2019. [38266/19]
View answerUnder the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the transition period runs to December 2020. It can be extended once, by mutual agreement of the EU and the UK, for up to two years. The decision to extend must be decided by the Joint Committee, established under the Withdrawal Agreement, before 1 July 2020.
As the transition period is provided for under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, it will not apply in the case of a no deal Brexit. In this context, such an extension has not been discussed by Ministers.
