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Britain’s May Considers Extending Post-Brexit Transition


Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to the media as she arrives at the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 18, 2018.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to the media as she arrives at the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 18, 2018.

British Prime Minister Theresa May says she is considering a European Union proposal that would keep Britain bound to the bloc’s rules for more than two years after Brexit.

At present the two sides say Britain will remain subject to the bloc’s rules from Brexit day, March 29, until December 2020, to give time for new trade relations to be set up.

With divorce talks stuck, the bloc has suggested extending that period, to give more time to strike a trade deal that ensures a frictionless border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

May said Thursday that the U.K. is considering extending the transition period by “a matter of months.”

The idea has angered pro-Brexit U.K. politicians, who see it as an attempt to bind Britain to the bloc indefinitely.

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