Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves after a news conference at the European Union leaders summit dominated by Brexit, in Brussels, Belgium October 17, 2019.Boris Johnson's government is not "match-fit" for the next stage of Brexit talks.Ruparel said that Johnson's UK government could secure a "narrow and shallow" trade deal with the EU but only if it learns from the mistakes of May's government.
Raoul Ruparel said that while it was possible for Boris Johnson's government to negotiate a "narrow and shallow" free trade deal with the EU in the 11-month transition period, it currently is not ready to take on the challenge. "There has been a lot of work done within various government departments, but much of this was done under Theresa May's government and often without any central coordination or direction," he said in the report.
The UK is currently scheduled to leave the EU in January and exit the transition period, or "implementation period," where it remains closely aligned with the EU, in December 2020.Any extension beyond then would anger many Conservative MPs, particularly because Britain would be required to make extra contributions to the EU budget and follow EU rules.