Source: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8453/
Timestamp: 2020-08-15 08:49:53
Document Index: 209787134

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'CJEU ', 'CJEU ', 'CJEU ', 'CJEU ', 'CJEU ']

The UK’s EU Withdrawal Agreement – House of Commons Library
The UK's EU Withdrawal Agreement (PDF, 2 MB)
Part 1 of the Withdrawal Agreement contains so-called ‘Common Provisions’. They set out its territorial scope, key definitions, and how the Withdrawal Agreement (and particularly, its EU law content) is to be given effect in the UK. An important difference from the March 2018 draft Withdrawal Agreement is that Article 4 makes clear that the entire Withdrawal Agreement (rather than just Part Two on Citizens’ Rights) is intended to be directly effective in the UK where its provisions are clear, precise and unconditional.
The citizens’ rights provisions were agreed by the UK and the EU in the March 2018 draft withdrawal agreement. There are no substantive changes or additions, except in provisions on the rights of nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
The UK has chosen to implement a scheme which requires EU citizens to apply for a new residency status known as ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ status. It is still unclear whether each of the EU27 will exercise their discretion under the withdrawal agreement to require UK residents to apply for a new residency status.
On 19 December 2018 the Home Secretary set out the Government’s detailed proposals for ‘The UK’s future skills-based immigration system’. There will be a year-long consultation on the proposals.
The Government is proposing a single, unified immigration system to apply to everyone who wants to come to the UK after Brexit. The system will be based on the current immigration rules for non-EU nationals, with many changes. The Government’s position is that the focus of the immigration system should be on skill and talent.
Under the WA, most goods that are already in the UK / EU market at the end of the transition period will be allowed to continue to move freely between the UK and the EU after the end of transition, with only limited additional requirements being placed on them.
Under the WA, goods that are moving between the UK and EU at the point of transition will not have to re-start their customs journeys or be subject to additional customs procedures. They will be allowed to complete their movement under the rules which were in place at the start of their movement.
Under the WA, procurement procedures that are ongoing at the end of the implementation period will continue under the current procurement rules up to the award of the contracts.
Certain EU regulations on food and agriculture continue to apply to NI during the ‘backstop’ period. Existing checks on animals and animal products moving from GB into NI will need to be scaled up. The Political Declaration states that provisions should be put in place to tackle sanitary and phytosanitary (animal and plant health) barriers to trade, that “build on and go beyond” WTO agreements.
The transition period, also described as the ‘implementation period’ is meant to bridge the period between the date of the UK’s exit from the EU and the entry into force of the new, yet to be negotiated, UK-EU partnership arrangements. The transition will run until the end of December 2020, with the possibility of extension for up to two years. The extension of Article 50 to 31 October means the transition period is now shorter. A decision on extending the transition period must be taken by 1 July 2020.
The UK will continue to apply EU law during the transition period, with a few exceptions, as if it were a Member State. But the UK will have no institutional representation and no role in decision-making. The EU institutions and other bodies, offices and agencies will continue to exercise their powers under EU law in relation to the UK. The CJEU will have jurisdiction in relation to the UK and to the interpretation and application of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Part six sets out the institutional arrangements underpinning the Agreement, and how disputes about the WA are to be resolved. The key changes to Part Six of the March 2018 draft relate to disputes regarding the agreement itself, which the Commission had originally proposed should be resolved by the CJEU if it could not be resolved in the Joint Committee. The November draft instead proposes in Article 170 that any disputes not resolved in the Joint Committee are taken to an independent arbitral tribunal, which will issue a binding decision regarding the dispute. However, where the dispute requires the interpretation of concepts or provisions of EU law, under Article 174 the tribunal is obliged to refer those to the CJEU for a binding interpretation of those concepts or provisions which the tribunal must then apply.
The NI Protocol, known as the ‘backstop’, is intended to be temporary and applies unless and until it is superseded by a future relations agreement, which the parties will try to achieve by 31 December 2020. The Protocol provides for the Common Travel Area and North-South cooperation to continue largely as they do today, as well as the Single Electricity Market (so some EU laws on wholesale electricity markets will continue to apply).
Under the ‘backstop’ the UK will form a customs union with the EU (except for trade in fisheries and aquaculture products, which should be the subject of a further agreement on fishing opportunities by 1 July 2020). The UK will conform to specific EU legislation on customs, including with respect to third countries, and some harmonisation of law will continue on taxation, the environment, labour law, state aid, competition and public companies/monopolies, but with no obligation to keep up with new EU legislation and CJEU case law. To provide a ‘level playing field’ the UK commits to non-regression on EU environmental protection, labour and social standards, state aid and competition, and state-owned undertakings in respect of administration of tax.
The UK will be able to conclude trade agreements with third countries; however, the customs union would substantially limit the UK’s ability to have significantly different trade relationships with them, particularly in relation to goods. There would be greater scope for the UK to offer different terms on trade in services and areas such as procurement.
EU law on free movement of persons, services and capital, and contributions to the EU budget, will not apply. But there will be free movement for goods moving from NI to the rest of the UK and the EU. The EU and the UK will seek to facilitate trade between Britain and NI with a view to avoiding controls at NI ports and airports.
In NI only, specific additional EU legislation will continue to apply in areas such as VAT and excise, product standards for goods, agriculture (including state aid), the environment, and electricity markets, certain technical standards relating to goods and the EU’s Customs Code.
UK authorities are responsible for implementing and applying EU law applicable under the Protocol but also, where EU law continues to apply to the UK in respect of NI, the EU institutions and bodies will have the same powers as they have under the EU Treaties. EU bodies including the CJEU can apply and interpret Protocol provisions specific to Northern Ireland. EU law applicable to the UK in respect of NI can be amended or replaced. But new EU legislation, not listed in the Protocol but within its scope, would need to be adopted by the Joint Committee – failing which the EU can take appropriate remedial measures. The Protocol is subject to review and may be ended in whole or in part by a decision of the Joint Committee, so both parties must agree to its termination.
The UK Parliament will need to undertake two approval processes before the UK can ratify the withdrawal agreement. Both the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRAG) impose procedural hurdles on the capacity of the UK to ratify what has been negotiated. The Withdrawal Act also provides for a Parliamentary process in the event that a deal is rejected by the Commons, or if no negotiated agreement is ever put to it.
The Government committed to holding a vote on a resolution in both Houses of Parliament before the EP holds its vote, where each House will be asked to approve the withdrawal agreement. So far the UK Parliament has had two ‘meaningful votes’ but had not approved the November 2018 Withdrawal Agreement, in spite of assurances from the EU in January 2019 that the backstop was not intended to be permanent, and further interpretations and clarifications in March 2019. The Strasbourg ‘package’ of clarifications and the Attorney General’s opinion on them are discussed in Commons Briefing Paper 8525, The ‘Strasbourg package’, 13 March 2019.
If the Withdrawal Agreement is approved, an EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill will be introduced to implement the withdrawal agreement in UK law. Further to the Library’s Briefing Paper, The User’s Guide to the Meaningful Vote, this Paper provides an updated account of the domestic constitutional requirements for ratifying the withdrawal agreement.
Terminology, documentation and further reading
In this paper the negotiated Withdrawal Agreement endorsed by EU leaders on 25 November 2018 (republished by UK Government March 2019) is abbreviated to WA, and the Political Declaration (republished by Government March 2019) setting out the framework for the future relationship between the EU and the UK is abbreviated to PD. Earlier drafts of these documents are referenced as such (e.g. the March 2018 draft).
The Government has also published the following texts on the Gov.uk website:
Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, 25 November 2018 (this includes Protocols on Ireland / Northern Ireland, the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus and Gibraltar)
Four Memorandums of Understanding and a Concordat between the UK and Spain on matters concerning Gibraltar
Three letters: from the UK Prime Minister; from Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker and from the UK Attorney General, 14 January 2019
The ‘Strasbourg package’: statement that political agreement has been reached; Political Declaration (unchanged); Withdrawal Agreement (unchanged); Joint Interpretative Instrument on the Withdrawal Agreement; Joint Statement on the Political Declaration; and unilateral declaration by the UK
All Brexit-related Commons Library briefing papers are available on the Parliamentary website at Brexit: research and analysis.
Commons Briefing Paper 8474, EU assurances to the UK on Brexit, 16 January 2019
Commons Briefing Paper 8525, The ‘Strasbourg package’, 13 March 2019
Commons Briefing Paper 8451, Brexit deal: Economic analyses, 4 December 2018
The UK’s Departure from the European Union – An overview of the Political Declaration, 28 November 2018
The UK’s Departure from the European Union – An overview of the Withdrawal Agreement, 26 November 2018
Commons Research Briefing CBP-8453
Authors: Antony Seely, Claire Mills, Dominic Webb, Elena Ares, Federico Mor, Gavin Phillipson, Georgina Hutton, Graeme Cowie, Hannah Wilkins, Ilze Jozepa, Joanna Dawson, John Curtis, John Woodhouse, Lorna Booth, Louise Butcher, Matthew Keep, Neil Johnston, Sara Priestley, Sarah Barber, Sarah Coe, Stefano Fella, Steven Kennedy, Suzanna Hinson, Sylvia de Mars, Vaughne Miller
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