EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation — House of Commons, 2018-07-24
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): With permission Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the White Paper published today setting out the Government’s plans for legislating for the withdrawal agreement and implementation period On Friday 29 March 2019, the UK will leave the European Union, giving effect to the historic decision taken by the British people in the 2016 referendum. The Government are committed to delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit. That is why we have already passed the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018—[Laughter.] The shadow Foreign Secretary is laughing. She and her party voted against the Bill, thereby undermining her commitment to give effect to the referendum. We are ensuring that the statute book functions after exit, whatever the outcome of the negotiations. I am grateful to this House and the other place for the many hours of scrutiny devoted to that vital piece of legislation. We are now embarking on the next step in the process of delivering that smooth Brexit for the people and businesses of this country Since last June, the UK has been negotiating with the EU to decide on the terms of our withdrawal. We have made substantial progress—on protecting the rights of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU, deciding the terms of the financial settlement and agreeing a strictly time-limited implementation period. Most of the withdrawal agreement—about 80%, according to the EU—has now been agreed with our EU partners, and we have isolated outstanding issues for further focused negotiation. I will be meeting Michel Barnier again on Thursday to take forward the negotiations at this critical time We have already agreed a financial settlement, estimated at between £35 billion and £39 billion, which is well below the figures bandied around by some when we started this negotiation. The implementation period will be finite and will allow for the negotiation and conclusion of free trade deals. Many of these arrangements will of course require new domestic legislation to deliver them into UK law. That is why, last November, we announced our intention to bring forward a new piece of primary legislation to implement the withdrawal agreement in UK law Today, we are publishing a White Paper setting out our proposals for this important legislation, which will be introduced once the negotiations have concluded and Parliament has approved the final deal. Our expectation is to reach agreement in October Under the terms of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act, Parliament will then have its say on the final deal. If it is approved, will we bring forward the legislation so that it can be in place for when we leave the EU on 29 March 2019. In setting out our proposals today, we are giving Parliament the opportunity to scrutinise our plans well ahead of the Bill’s introduction, given the need to enact the legislation in the time available and mindful of the importance of maximum scrutiny in this House By publishing the White Paper today, the Government are providing further certainty to people and businesses here in the UK and across the EU. It also sends a clear signal to the European Union that the United Kingdom is a reliable, dependable negotiating partner, delivering on the commitments it has made across the negotiating table. Of course, while we are making good progress, discussions are still ongoing in various areas, so some parts of the Bill will only become clearer as we settle the remaining parts of the withdrawal agreement. In the light of that, today’s White Paper focuses on those parts of the withdrawal agreement where the text is already agreed. I will take them in turn The UK’s first priority in negotiating its withdrawal from the EU was to reach agreement on the rights of citizens, including the 3.5 million EU citizens who live in the UK and who are valued members of their communities and play an integral part in the life of this country. Likewise, the approximately 1 million UK nationals who currently live in the EU are equally valued by their host countries and communities The agreement reached on citizens’ rights will allow EU citizens in the UK, and UK nationals in the EU, to live their lives broadly as they do now and enable families who have built their lives in the EU and the UK to stay together. The most important next step will be to provide a continued right of residence for those citizens. EU citizens lawfully residing in the UK on 31 December 2020 will be able to stay This month, the Home Office published further details about how EU citizens and their families can obtain settled status in the UK. That statement confirms that the settlement scheme will make it simple and straightforward for citizens and their families to secure long-term status in this country. The Bill will ensure that EU citizens can rely on the rights set out in the withdrawal agreement and can enforce them in UK courts. It will also establish an independent monitoring authority to oversee the UK’s implementation of the deal on citizens’ rights, thus providing further reassurance for citizens All EU member states must implement the agreement in full and provide certainty for UK nationals on the continent. As the Home Secretary stated recently, we now need to know more of the details of how each member state will fulfil its obligations and implement its side of the agreement. We will be pressing further for those details over the summer The next chapter of the White Paper deals with the strictly time-limited implementation period that the UK agreed with the EU in March. The UK will leave the EU on 29 March 2019. After that, the implementation period on which we have agreed will ensure that people and businesses will have to plan for only one set of changes as we move towards our future relationship. From 30 March 2019 until 31 December 2020, common rules will remain in place, with EU law continuing to apply, and businesses will be able to trade on the same terms as they do now. During that period, we will not be a member state and will have the flexibility that we need to strike new trade deals around the world—something that many argued we would not be able to achieve in the negotiations To legislate for the implementation period, we must ensure that the UK statute book continues to reflect the relevant provisions of EU law, as it applies to the UK during this time-limited period. As the House will know, the current mechanism for bringing EU law into UK law is the European Communities Act 1972. Under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act, the ECA will be repealed on 29 March 2019. As set out in the White Paper, the EU withdrawal agreement Bill will contain a time-limited provision so that parts of the ECA are saved until 31 December 2020. Those changes will ensure that our statute book functions properly throughout the implementation period, in accordance with the agreement that we have made with the EU Let me now turn to the financial settlement, the structure of which was agreed in December on the basis that it would sit alongside our future partnership. As we have said from the start, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. That is in keeping with article 50, and in keeping with the guidelines that have been given to the EU for the negotiation. We will have a framework for our future relationship with the EU, alongside the withdrawal agreement, and our approach to that future partnership is set out in the White Paper that we published earlier this month. There must be a firm commitment in the withdrawal agreement requiring the framework for the future relationship to be translated into legal text as soon as possible. It is one part of the whole deal that we are doing with our EU partners. Of course, if one party fails to honour its side of that overall bargain, there will be consequences for the whole deal, and that includes the financial settlement In addition, we have agreed an obligation for both parties to act in good faith throughout the application of the withdrawal agreement. The White Paper published today explains that the EU withdrawal agreement Bill will include a standing service provision to allow the Government to meet the commitments of the financial settlement. In the interests of transparency and oversight, the White Paper also includes proposals to enhance the existing scrutiny arrangements for the payments made to the EU The White Paper sets out our approach to delivering the withdrawal agreement and the implementation period into law, and I look forward to discussing all its proposals with Members in all parts of the House. It is a necessary part of leaving the EU and ensuring a smooth and orderly departure. It gives EU citizens living here, and UK nationals abroad, clarity and certainty that their rights will be properly protected; it will enact the time-limited implementation period, giving businesses greater certainty and giving the public finality with respect to our relationship with the EU; and it provides for the appropriate means for paying the financial settlement. Above all, with 80% of the withdrawal agreement settled with our EU partners, the White Paper is another key milestone on the United Kingdom’s path to leaving the EU. I commend this statement to the House.