SCOTLAND and Wales boycotted UK Brexit talks last night after Michael Gove ignored their calls to push back EU withdrawal due to the coronavirus crisis.
The devolved governments have repeatedly clashed with Westminster on leaving the EU.
Leaders in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast have accused ministers in London of cutting them out of the process – and ignoring the wants and needs of their citizens and economies.
Yesterday Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, sent a joint letter to Boris Johnson urging him to seek an extension to withdrawal on December 31 in light of the massive economic damage the pandemic has caused.
The UK economy contracted by 20% in April and figures set to be released next week are expected to show a massive rise in unemployment in Scotland. But as their letter was sent, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove used Twitter to announce that he has officially given notice to Brussels that there will be no extension.
Gove tweeted: “I formally confirmed the UK will not extend the transition period and the moment for [an] extension has now passed. On January 1, 2021 we will take back control and regain our political and economic independence.”
In response, Sturgeon and Drakeford refused to take part in a conference call with the UK Government on Brexit matters last night.
Scottish Europe Secretary Michael Russell, Europe Minister Jenny Gilruth and Welsh European Transition Minister Jeremy Miles stated: “We cannot accept a way of working in which the views of the devolved governments are simply dismissed before we have had a chance to discuss them.
“In reality, the meetings we have had have simply been an opportunity for the UK Government to inform us of their views, not to listen or respond to ours.
“We will be writing to Michael Gove to seek a complete re-boot of these talks and meanwhile we want the EU27 to know that the position being taken by the UK Government with regard to an extension of the transition period runs counter to the views of our governments and, in our opinion, risks doing serious damage to the people of our countries.”
The leaders had been scheduled to take part in a virtual meeting with Paymaster General Penny Mordaunt at 6pm to discuss preparations for next week’s high-level meeting between Johnson and the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament.
Russell, Gilruth and Miles added: “Failing to request an extension at this time is a particularly reckless act given the damage coronavirus is doing to the economy and the impact on jobs.”
READ MORE: EU 'willing to listen' to case for Scottish Brexit extension
Earlier in the day, Maros Sefcovic, the vice-president of the EU Commission, took part in a meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee with Gove, who is also Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Afterwards, he said:
“Michael Gove confirmed to me that the UK will not consider an extension of the transition period.
“From our side, I have taken note of the position of the UK on this issue and have stated, as President von der Leyen has already done, that the EU remains open to such an extension.
“In this context, we both, with Chancellor Gove, agreed on accelerating the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and to accelerate our work, and we also agreed that the Joint
Committee should meet again in early September.”
Sefcovic warned there remains “a lot of work to do” in the remaining six months, particularly on the key Northern Ireland protocol, stating: “The window of opportunity to put in place the operational measures needed to ensure that the protocol can function as intended on January 1, 2021 is rapidly closing.”
In their letter, Sturgeon and Drakeford said sticking to that timescale would be “extraordinarily reckless” and mean “at very best there will only be a damaging ‘bare bones’ trade deal or even worse, a disastrous no-deal outcome.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel