REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
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.
- That's according to Raoul Ruparel, who was Theresa May's top Europe adviser.
- 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.
- Johnson has vowed not to extend the transition period beyond December 2020, a move which Labour has warned will lead to a no-deal Brexit.
Senior EU officials have also expressed doubt that the UK can secure a comprehensive deal within 11 months.
The United Kingdom government is not "match-fit" for the next stage of Brexit talks, according Theresa May's top adviser on leaving the European Union.
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.
"As it stands, the UK does not yet appear 'match-fit' for the next phase of negotiations," Ruparel said in a report for the Institute of Government think tank.
"There is a huge amount of work to be done to flesh out the detail of what the UK wants from its future relationship with the EU, and Whitehall is not yet ready to negotiate such a complex and wide-ranging agreement, nor implement it."
Ruparel, who helped design the Northern Ireland solution which allowed Johnson to secure a Brexit deal with the EU, said the best that the prime minister could realistically secure in less than a year is a speedy, bare-bones trade deal - but only if he learns from the mistakes of his predecessor, May.
Ruparel said that Johnson's government could secure a limited trade agreement if there was "central political direction from Downing Street" rather than conflicting power bases in different government departments.
"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.
"This means much of it may not, in the end, have much bearing on reality, or may actually conflict with the work other parts of government have done."
He added: "There urgently needs to be central political direction and decisions on the detail of the future relationship and the overarching strategy for the next phase - this should all then be turned into legal text as soon as possible (to help the UK get on the front foot)."
Ruparel called for the Department for Exiting the European Union to be closed, with a new unit leading negotiations in Number 10 or the Cabinet Office or in a beefed-up Department for International Trade.
YouTube/Open Europe
Raoul Ruparel.
EU's top negotiator Michel Barnier said 'we will not get everything done in 11 months'
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.
Johnson vowed not to extend it beyond then during his successful general election campaign.
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.
Senior EU officials have privately expressed doubt that the UK can secure a comprehensive deal within 11 months.
Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, was caught in a leaked recording saying that "we will not get everything done in 11 months" and said only a "vital minimum" deal was possible.
"With regards to this agreement, we will not get everything done in 11 months. We will do all we can - we won't do it all," he said in audio published by the Independent.
The Labour Party has also said Johnson would not be able to secure a deal in 11 months. The party's campaign chief said during the election campaign that Johnson's "sell-out Brexit deal will put us on the fast-track to a cliff-edge no-deal Brexit."
The report came as Michael Gove insisted Johnson would be able to secure a trade deal with the EU next year.
Speaking on Sky's Sophie Ridge on Sunday, the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster said: "Quite a lot of the details that we need to negotiate is already laid out in the political declaration, so a lot of work has been done.
"And as a number of people have pointed out, there are areas where the European Union's interests and the United Kingdom's interests are already closely aligned, so I'm confident that we will be able not just to leave the EU on 31 January but also to conclude all the details of a new relationship in short order."
Asked whether Mr Johnson would break his promise not to extend the transition period beyond 2020, Gove said: "Nope."
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