Theresa May told reporters on a trip to the Middle East that there is a possibility for freedom of movement to be part of a transitional agreement with the European Union if Brexit is not concluded within two years.
The Prime Minister told reporters that an “implementation” would be necessary once a deal had been confirmed, which would allow both governments and businesses time to adjust to the significant changes.
When asked if she planned to rule out free movement from this transitional phase, May said: “You’ve used the phrase transitional phase; I have used the phrase implementation period,” she told reporters.
“If you think about it, once we’ve got the deal, once we’ve agreed what the new relationship will be for the future, it will be necessary for there to be a period of time when businesses and governments are adjusting systems and so forth, depending on the nature of the deal, a period of time during which that deal will be implemented.”
“What is crucial for the British public, what was part of the vote that they took last year, was that they want to ensure that we have control of our borders and control of our immigration and that’s exactly what we will do when we come out of the European Union,” she said.
Defence secretary Michael Fallon has also hinted towards the possibility of this transition period, where free movement will continue.
“There won’t suddenly be a huge difference between the day after we leave and the day before,” he told the BBC. “We can’t give a timetable on negotiations that haven’t even started yet. Our object is to regain control over migration – to make sure we can manage the number of people who are coming here and the numbers of people who are going to Europe.”
These comments come following European council president Donald Tusk’s guidelines. The European council president suggested that if the UK wanted to remain in the single market while beyond the formal exit process, then free movement would also have to remain.