EU seeks to delay application of post-Brexit trade deal

[BRUSSELS] The European Commission on Tuesday presented a proposal to member states to extend until April the application of a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK, sources said.

The provisional application of this treaty, concluded late last year, began in January and was to have ended at the end of this month, giving the European Parliament time to study and ratify it.

But the EU "needs more time for the translation of documents" in all the official languages, a commission spokesman told AFP.

A European source said the proposal for an extension had been sent to members for approval and would then be put to a joint UK-EU council looking into the post-Brexit treaty.

European lawmakers began studying the 1,250-page text in the middle of last month.

Britain's Brexit negotiator David Frost confirmed on Tuesday that London has been informed of the proposal to extend the deadline.

"It's a little disappointing given that we did discuss this only a month ago," he said.

"It's a little surprising that the EU wish to change it quite so soon. However we will talk with them and see what can be done."

AFP