Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Michel Barnier’s comments on the possibility of there being no Brexit transition period for the UK.

Both the Government and the Commission have been clear that a time-limited implementation period is negotiable. Such a period is in the interests of both businesses and individuals in the UK and the EU. The Commission has published their Directives which provide a mandate to negotiate such a period and both sides have set out a legal text for that agreement.

It is in the interests of both the UK and the EU to agree the precise terms of this period as quickly as possible, in order to provide vital certainty to businesses and citizens. We are approaching these negotiations in good faith, as indeed is the EU, and are confident we can reach an agreement.