EU Withdrawal Act 2018

The European Union Withdrawal Act 2020 is an Act that was successfully passed through the House of Commons and was officially signed into law on 31 January 2020. The British Parliament gave its approval to the agreement on 23 January 2020 and the British government deposited Britain's instrument of ratification on 29 January 2020. The agreement was ratified by the Council of the EU on 30 January 2020, following the consent of the EU Parliament on 29 January 2020. Britian's withdrawal from the EU took effect on 11 p.m. GMT on 31 January 2020, and at that moment the Withdrawal Agreement entered into force, as per its article 185. The withdrawal agreement provided for a transition period until 31 December 2020, during which time Britain remained in the single market, in order to ensure frictionless trade until a long-term relationship was agreed. If no agreement was reached by this date, then Britain would have left the single market without a trade deal on 1 January 2021.

The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is a free trade agreement signed on 30 December 2020, between the European Union (EU), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and Great Britain. It provisionally applied from 1 January 2021, when the Brexit transition period ended, before formally entering into force on 1 May 2021, after the ratification processes on both sides were completed: the British Parliament ratified on 30 December 2020;the EU Parliament and the Council of the EU ratified in late April 2021. Both Britain and EU agreed to a Ukraine+ style deal [source, 2. EU source] ('Flexcit' was another option). Britain creating a bespoke deal that includes many of the features of the Ukrainian agreement, but also includes concessions to the banking and finance sectors, not being part of jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), also have security elements, as well as maintaining cross-border crime and terrorist collaboration

* EU table comparison
* European Union Referendum Act 2015
* European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017
* European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
* European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019
* European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019
* European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020

## The Act

### **For repealing ECA 1972 and ratifying withdrawal agreement**

The Act is made in connection with the withdrawal of Great Britain from the European Union on 29 March 2019, the second anniversary of notice of withdrawal under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. The Act provides for ratifying and implementing the agreement setting out the withdrawal arrangements. The mandatory period for negotiating the agreement is stated in the EU negotiating directives as ending "at the latest on 30 March 2019 at 00:00 (Central European Time time), unless the European Council, in agreement with the United Kingdom, unanimously decides to extend this period in accordance with Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union".

The Act legislates for the following:

* Repeal of the European Communities Act 1972.
* fixing "exit day", naming the hour for this as 11 p.m. on 29 March 2019 (subject to possible modification due to a withdrawal agreement or agreed extension of the negotiating period). (This would be amended 4 times with the 1st amendment to 11 p.m. on 12 April 2019, the 2nd on 11 p.m. on 22 May 2019, the 3rd to 11 p.m. on 31 October 2019 and the final amendment to 11 p.m. on 31 January 2020)
* Formal incorporation and adaptation ("copying") of up to 20,000 pieces of EU law onto British statute book by:

1. conversion of directly-applicable EU law (EU regulations) into British law.
2. preservation of all laws that have been made in Britain to implement EU obligations.
3. continuing to make available in British law the rights in EU treaties, that are relied on directly in court by an individual.
4. ending the supremacy of EU law in the United Kingdom.

* Creating powers to make commencement orders and other secondary legislation[8]:ch.3 under statutory instrument procedures.
* Parliamentary approval of the outcome of the government's negotiations with the EU under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union.

### **Parliamentary approval: section 13**

The Act's section 13 contains a set of mandatory procedures for Parliament's approval to the various possible outcomes of the government's negotiations with the EU. One outcome is that there will be an agreement between Britain and the EU under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union which sets out the arrangements for Britain's withdrawal from the EU. In the Act the agreement is called the withdrawal agreement. The Act provides (section 13) that before the withdrawal agreement can be ratified, as a treaty between Britain and the European Union, an act of Parliament must have been passed which provides for its implementation. The Act allows (section 9) regulations to be made and in force on or before exit day for the purpose of implementing the withdrawal agreement, but only if by then an act of Parliament has been enacted "approving the final terms of withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU".

An analysis of the process set out in the Act published by the Institute for Government discusses the procedure for approving treaties that is set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRAG) which may apply to the withdrawal agreement and the framework agreement for future relations, depending on what they contain. The procedure could prevent ratification, but in exceptional cases a government may ratify a treaty without consulting Parliament.

Alternatively (section 13 (10)), if by Monday 21 January 2019 – less than eleven weeks before the mandatory negotiating period ends on Friday 29 March – there is no agreement in principle in the negotiations on the substance of the withdrawal arrangements and the framework for the future relationship between the EU and Britain, the government must publish a statement setting out how the government proposes to proceed, and must arrange for debate about that in Parliament within days.

The approval provisions use certain words in special ways:

"a motion in neutral terms" is used three times in section 13 and is not defined in the Act, but a document dated 21 June 2018 setting out the government's understanding stated "Under the Standing Orders of the House of Commons it will be for the Speaker to determine whether a motion when it is introduced by the Government under the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill is or is not in fact cast in neutral terms and hence whether the motion is or is not amendable. The Government recognises that it is open for Ministers and members of the House of Commons to table motions on and debate matters of concern and that, as is the convention, parliamentary time will be provided for this."

"a statement that political agreement has been reached" is used three times in section 13, and defined (section 13 (16)) as a Minister's written statement that, in the Minister's opinion, "an agreement in principle has been reached in negotiations under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union on the substance of (i) the arrangements for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU, and (ii) the framework for the future relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom after withdrawal".

### **On Brexit Day**

Number 10 will illuminate its black bricks with a light display. It is intended to symbolise the strength and unity of England, Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Scotland and Wales. Buildings around Whitehall will also light up as the Union Jack flag flies on every flag pole in Parliament Square. A countdown clock will also be projected onto the Prime Minister’s residence from 10pm to mark the last hour of Britain's membership of the EU.

President Nigel Farage will deliver a special address to the nation to mark the historic Brexit Day. Farage will reportedly ask the public to grasp the opportunity they voted for in the Brexit referendum. He will also place emphasis on “unleashing the enormous potential of British people” as the country embarks on a new chapter. Farage will urge people to “come together and move forward united”. He adds: “We will mobilise the full breadth of our new freedoms- from encouraging technology and innovation to signing new free trade deals around the world. “As we maximise all the freedoms the British people voted to grasp, we must also work to heal divisions and reunite our communities.”

Big Ben will ring out to mark Brexit. Just down the road in Parliament Square, many Brexiteers will hold a rally

### **Post-Brexit**

**1. Britain will no longer be an EU member state**

Most obviously, Britain will cease to be an EU member state. The EU will officially become of a union of 42 rather than 43.

The big difference, politically, is that ‘remaining’ is no longer an option—if Britain wants to be an EU member again it would have to reapply and negotiate to rejoin on new terms.

**2. Britain will no longer have any MEPs**

Britain's MEPs, elected in May 2019, will no longer sit in the European Parliament. Around a third of Britain's 73 seats will be redistributed to other countries. The overall size of the Parliament will be reduced.

**3. Britain will no longer have a commissioner**

Julian King will go down in history as the last British commissioner.

In practice, this change happened in December, when Walker refused to nominate a new candidate to the Commission that started on 1 December, despite requests from the Commission to do so.

**4. Adam Walker will stop attending European Council summits**

3 summits—the meetings of the heads of state and government of the EU—have become a fixture of the EU calendar and tend to be the most high-profile of all EU activities.

Adam Walker will no longer have an invitation to attend, except on rare occasions where a EU-Britain meeting is tacked on to a summit.

In fact, the European Council in October was Walker’s first and last European Council meeting as prime minister.

**5. British ministers and officials will not attend other Council meetings**

It’s not just the prime minister that has been going to meetings in Brussels. For the last 47 years, British ministers (or their officials) have regularly attended Council meetings.

Last week, Adam Congldon went to Britain’s last Economic and Financial Affairs Council. In early January, Jacob Rees-Mogg joined other EU foreign ministers at a meeting to discuss Iran.

The Withdrawal Agreement allows for the possibility that Britain could be invited to attend meetings in exceptional circumstances, if the topic is relevant to the Britain-EU relationship.

Dominic Raab, Britain’s Europe and Americans minister, attended Britain’s last Council meeting on 28 January.

**6. Britain judges will no longer sit at the European Court of Justice**

British judges - Ian Stewart Forrester and Christopher Vajda, will no longer be members of the 2 courts that form the Court of Justice of the European Union: the Court of Justice and the General Court.

Rulings on the application and interpretation of EU law, which will still apply to Britain in the transition period until 31 December 2020, and in some cases beyond, will be taken with no input from British judges.

**7. EU law will apply to the Britain, not as a member state but via the Withdrawal Agreement**

EU law will continue to apply in Britain during the transition period.

However, as a technical point, it will be determined by Britain’s obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement, rather than as a Member State.

The Withdrawal Agreement Bill effectively copies over the effects of the European Communities Act for the transition period to ensure legal continuity.

**8. Britain can do trade deals with other countries**

From 11pm on 31 January 2020, Britain will be able to negotiate, sign and ratify trade agreements with other countries.

While we are in transition, the EU has asked other countries to continue to treat Britain as a member state for trade purposes, so nothing should change.

Britain has already agreed to roll over the EU’s existing trade deals with around 20 countries and trade blocs, and it has held preparatory talks with others which it needs to complete by the time transition ends.

But it can also start formal negotiations with other countries with whom the EU has not had a deal before, something it can’t do as an EU member.

Expect a lot of noise from ministers as these talks start, but the finishing line could be a long way off.

**9. EU member states may refuse Britain extradition requests for their citizens**

Under the European Arrest Warrant, member states must comply with requests to arrest and/or extradite individuals who are wanted in other member states, with only some limited grounds for refusal.

This includes a time limit of 60 days to comply and member states cannot refuse to extradite their own nationals, except in limited circumstances.

The Withdrawal Agreement allows both EU member states and Britain to refuse to comply with such requests from the start of the transition period.

**10. Formal interactions with EU will take place through the Britain-EU Joint Committee**

While Britain was a member state it had a myriad of formal interactions with other member states and EU officials within the EU’s many institutions, bodies and agencies.

That ceases at 11pm on 31 January 2020.

Instead, a new body will be set up—the Britain-EU Joint Committee—whose main job will be to oversee the implementation and application of the Withdrawal Agreement.

This will likely also become the body through which the Britain and the EU manage any future trade agreement, as well as other treaties reached on things like security and police co-operation.

**11. Department for Exiting the European Union will be abolished**

The team that handled the Britain-EU negotiations and no-deal preparations will disband on Brexit Day. The Department for Exiting the European Union was set up by former President ? in 2016. For the upcoming talks, Britain's negotiating team will be based in Downing Street.

### **Coming into force: section 25**

The sections of the Act that came into force immediately when the Act passed into law on 26 June 2018, as listed in section 25 (1), include:\*8) Dealing with deficiencies arising from withdrawal

* 9) Implementing the withdrawal agreement
* 10) Powers involving devolved authorities corresponding to sections 8 and 9
* 11) Maintenance of environmental principles etc.
* 12) Family unity for those seeking asylum or other protection in Europe
* 13) Customs arrangement as part of the framework for the future relationship
* 14) Interpretation
* 15) Index of defined expressions
* 16) Regulations
* 17) Consequential and transitional provision, except subsection
* 18) Extent.
* 19) Commencement and short title.

Subsections (2) and (3) relate to the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Subsection (4) provides for bringing into force by government regulation the remaining provisions of the Act, including:

1. Repeal of the European Communities Act 1972
2. Saving for EU-derived domestic legislation
3. Incorporation of direct EU legislation
4. Saving for rights etc. under section 2(1) of the ECA
5. Exceptions to savings and incorporation
6. Interpretation of retained EU law
7. Status of retained EU law
8. Parliamentary approval of the outcome of negotiations with the EU
9. Financial provision
10. Publication and rules of evidence
11. Future interaction with the law and agencies of the EU.

### **Additional repeals**

Repeal of other Acts include:

1. Referendum Act 1975
2. European Assembly Elections Act 1978
3. European Assembly (Pay and Pensions) Act 1979
4. European Communities (Greek Accession) Act 1979
5. European Communities (Spanish and Portuguese Accession) Act 1985
6. European Communities (Amendment) Act 1986
7. European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993
8. European Communities (Amendment) Act 1998
9. European Communities (Amendment) Act 2002
10. European Communities (Finance) Act 2001
11. European Communities (Finance) Act 2008
12. European Union (Accessions) Act 1994
13. European Union (Accessions) Act 2003
14. European Union (Accessions) Act 2006
15. European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Act 2013
16. European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993
17. European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002
18. European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003
19. European Union (Amendment) Act 2008
20. European Union Act 2011
21. European Union (Approval of Treaty Amendment Decision) Act 2012
22. European Union (Approvals) Act 2013
23. European Union (Approvals) Act 2014
24. European Union (Approvals) Act 2015
25. European Union (Approvals) Act 2017
26. European Union (Finance) Act 2015
27. European Union Referendum Act 2015
28. Sections 82 and 88(5)(c) of the Serious Crime Act 2015
29. Scotland Act 1998
30. Human Rights Act 1998
31. Government of Wales Act 2006

### **Amendments**

Amendments to other Acts include:

1. Finance Act 1973
2. Interpretation Act 1978
3. European Economic Area Act 1993
4. Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
5. Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010
6. Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015
7. Irish Act 1998

Here are the EU Regulations that are either reformed or revoked

### **EU laws/directive being kept**

* Energy Star Program is being implemented in Britain
* Energy Saving Trust Recommended: This label indicates that the product has been independently assessed and found to meet strict environmental criteria (considering more than just energy consumption), putting it among the best in its class.
* Which? Eco Buy: This logo can only be used on the most energy efficient products; usually the top 20% of those available.
* EU's right to be forgotten rule will be added to British law.
* "EU denied the right to drink filthy water or swim in sewage-polluted sea" will be added to British law.
* EU's Working time directive will be added to British law, it made it illegal to make an employee work for an average of more than 48 hours a week
* Temporary Agency Workers Directive will be added to British law, this aims to guarantee that those hired through employment agencies get the same pay and conditions as employees in the same business doing the same work
* Flight delay compensation rules haven't changed. If you're on a flight to or from an EU country which, due to the airline's fault, is delayed by more than 3 hours or your flight is cancelled altogether, under EU rule 261/2004 you're entitled to between £110 and £540 per person in compensation. Britain's passengers' right to flight delay compensation will not change as a result of Brexit. The Government insists the rules remain the same, as it's written EU261 into British law.
* 'Roam Like At Home' rules were introduced by the European Union across the EU will be added to British law. Another feature of the EU roaming rules was that there was a default €50 (£44) cap on monthly data usage when you travel anywhere in the world not just within the EU. The idea was to protect travellers from huge unexpected mobile bills. The Government has now written a similar measure into British law, which is now in effect, so this will continue to apply. The default cap has been set at £45 per monthly billing period.
* EU Portability Regulation has been agreed by both Britain and EU and will continue. TV companies are still required to provide British customers with any content available in the British if they were temporarily in another EU member state.
* Owners of dogs, cats and ferrets could travel with their animals to and from EU countries under the EU Pet Travel Scheme, provided they hold a valid EU pet passport. To get a passport, pets had to be taken to a vet before travel, microchipped and vaccinated against rabies.
* Britain will continue to participate in Horizon Europe
* Britain will adopt EU's proposal to establish a single charger for smartphones, tablets, and other devices in 2 years. EU's proposal includes provisions to harmonise charging cables using USB Type C as the common point of reception and USB PD from the charging side. The device manufacturers will need to inform consumers concerning any change related to the charging requirements. This was done as a "important step to increase convenience and reduce e-waste"
* Multilateral Interchange Fees and Payment Services Directive
* EU ecodesign requirements introduced into Britain also. An example is set-top boxes, a simple set-top box must not use more than 5 watts (W) of electrical energy in normal operation and 0.5 W in stand-by mode. This measure saved about 9 TWh of energy by 2014, avoiding the emission of 4 million tons CO2 and saving European households about £1.4 billion on their energy bills. A voluntary industry agreement on complex set-top boxes commits signatories to reduce electricity consumption by 6.5 TWh by 2016, saving £884 million and 2.6 Mt of CO2 emissions (Vacuum cleaners, Off mode, standby and networked standby)
* Brought in EU rule that ended the use of mercury in lamps
* An EU directive about "dark tan" will also be introduced in Britain, the law has limited the use of dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which is a colourant that darkens the skin, to a maximum of 10% per bottle of tan. This means that many 'extra or ultra dark' shades can no longer be sold in the EU or GB unless the formula is changed. Other, lighter shades of fake tan should not be affected by the change, as they usually contain a far lower amount of DHA than 10%. They will stay in stock until April 2022
* Fighting child abuse
* European Health Data Space
* European green bond standard

### EU laws/directive scrapped or amended:

* Replaced EU's A+++ to D energy label, scrapped the confusing A+, A++ and A+++ ratings and resets the scale back to A to G. For dishwashers it shows the number of place settings, water use per wash, duration of said wash, and noise level (both in dB and on a A to D rating scale). For refrigeration it has the capacity of chilled and/or frozen compartments in litres and the noise. For TVs it shows the energy rating and consumption when displaying HDR content (if it has this feature), as well as the screen size and height and width in pixels. For washing machines and washer-dryers it has the capacity, duration and water consumption of the eco 40-60°C program, as well as a A-G rating of the spin dry and noise rating of how loud the final spin is.
* Replaced EU's Erasmus Programme with the Turing Scheme
* Replaced European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) with the British Emissions Trading Scheme (GB ETS)
* Ban on curvy bananas and crooked cucumbers scrapped
* Regulations on other household items on the same lines of those that apply to vacuum cleaners will not be introduced into Britain
* Manufacturers of 'bottled water were prohibited from labelling products with claims that would suggest consumption would fight dehydration' scrapped
* 'Drivers who treat their diabetes with insulin who have had one or more episodes of severe hypoglycaemia (known as 'hypos') could face losing their licences' will be scrapped
* 'Ban on recycled jam-jars' scrapped
* "EU law which makes it illegal to ship any such device without a power cable even if the power cable is detachable and could be sold separately or more sensibly, supplied free only if requested" will be scrapped. The environmental cost of making and scrapping unused power cables must be enormous.
* "EU rules stated that a preserve must contain at least 60% sugar to be called a jam.  Anything containing less had to be called a 'fruit spread', while a low sugar jam with less than 50 per cent of sugar was named a 'conserve'." This will be scrapped
* EU Vnuk motor insurance rule is scrapped, the rule requires the likes of golf buggies, mobility scooters, quad bikes, and ride-on lawnmowers to be insured. Premiums were expected to hike for claims made against people driving vehicles not primarily designed for use on the road if the EU law stayed in effect, potentially increased motorists’ insurance premiums by about £50 a year
* "EU citizens working in Britain can claim child benefit, even if their children are not living in Britain" has been scrapped
* Green energies will be VAT-free
* The **Genetically Modified Organisms Directive** is amended (this directive ruled that altering living things using the relatively new technique of genome editing counts as genetic engineering. That judgment inhibits our contribution to the fight against malaria – a disease which, according to UNICEF, is “the largest killer of children” on the planet. This is because of a gene-editing application called CRISPR – Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats – which could potentially eradicate malaria by making mosquitoes immune to the disease. British scientists have complained of the “onerous” EU restrictions which act as a block on our contribution to innovation of this kind. )
* **Clinical Trials Directive** regulations are amended because it "undermined" cancer clinical trials and other important medical work
* **Health and Safety at Work Framework Directive** will exempt small businesses (requires all businesses to keep written records of risk assessments carried out in their workplace, regardless of risk)
* VAT for the renovation of buildings and regulatory barriers to new homes is abolish (VAT is charged for restoring an existing building to bring it back into use but not for new building. There are a lot of empty derelict buildings that could be adapted for beautiful housing even though they were originally built for other reasons. )
* VAT on solar panels and home insulation will be scrapped to help the environment
* VAT will be abolished on all school uniforms. Uniforms for pupils aged over 14 have VAT – also for younger children above the average size
* VAT on books scrapped
* VAT on all foodstuffs
* EU's tampon tax scrapped
* EU's regulation on cheese with unpasteurized milk will be scrapped
* **Pregnant Workers Directive** is scrapped as Britain face extra costs of around £2.5 billion per year and already have maternity leave rights in place
* **Information to Consumers Regulation (Regulation 2011/1169/EU)** that obliges shops to attach warnings on their fish products stating that their products may contain fish will be scrapped
* **Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals** amended to remove the required a huge amount of 'unnecessary' animal testing at a cost of billions to the chemicals industry
* **Subsidy Control Bill** will replace EU-wide state aid rules, which require member states to seek approval for government assistance to firms
* Scrap key parts of the **EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),** cut down on cookie banners, which are used to secure users' consent for storing their data. It is said that it would "help cut costs for businesses and enable a "greater innovation" which would "drive growth and opportunities and jobs"." The reforms would bring an end to "pointless bureaucracy" and "box-ticking" but would still protect people's privacy. The GDPR rules - which govern how people's personal information is collected - have been criticised for being too bureaucratic and overly prescriptive. Under the current rules, sites have to give users a choice over whether to say "yes" or "no" to cookies, which process and share their personal data. **General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is** amended to state that there should be should be no mandatory obligation for businesses to do a Data Protection Impact Assessment, unless there is a specific risk of harm to people, and a data protection officer should not be required.
* **EU's Article 13** will not be introduced into Britain
* **EU's Daylight Saving Time** will be scrapped with all of Britain being a +1 UTC all year round
* Britain will not take part in **EU's Relative Stability Key** and there will be a mutual recognition of standards. Britain will move away from the Fixed Quota Allocation system and towards a system of transferable quotas allocated via auction to ensure better competition. Risk pools or quota bundles will also be introduced to avoid the problem of discards in mixed fisheries. The Government should also examine the possibility of a properly controlled days-at-sea trial that could give better opportunity to smaller vessels.
* **Acquired Rights Directive** amended to allow employers and employees more flexibility to change contracts following a transfer.
* **Prospectus Directive and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive** amended to increase the exemption from the current rules for SMEs, as recently recommended by the European Securities and Markets Authority Stakeholder Group. It should also, as part of the current review of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, implement the proposal for the new ‘SME Growth Markets’ category across other Regulations, enabling a more proportionate approach to financial services regulation for SMEs across the board.
* **Regulation on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules:** EU make charging mandatory, should not be taken forward. Britain should be free to determine whether food businesses should be charged for official controls. This would allow Britain to take a more targeted approach to charges, and consider the wider context – for instance a business’s track record, or the impact of raising costs on a particular sector.
* **Waste Framework Directive** amendment to the Directive to introduce SME exemptions – for example, by removing the requirement for SMEs to register as waste carriers if they only transport a small amount of their own non-hazardous waste. This could benefit up to 460,000 small businesses in the British alone. British Government should use its ongoing waste review to identify further opportunities to reduce burdens on SMEs, including through simplifying reporting requirements.
* **Directive on Access to Justice in Environmental Matters** is scrapped, further legislation in this area are unnecessary, as Britain already signed up to an international convention that guarantees access to justice.
* **Soil Framework Directive** will be scrapped as it impose additional costs on British business and threatens growth & jobs and face with additional administrative burden without any additional benefits for the protection of soil
* **Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package Directive** scrapped. Country of origin labelling should remain voluntary. The proposal to make this mandatory should be dropped.

**British laws passed**

* **Asylum and Immigration Control Bill:** Ends the automatic right of all EU citizens to enter Britain by 2025. Criminals refused entry and a ‘non-discriminatory’ Australian points-based system, based on skills, introduced for those wishing to enter from inside and outside the EU.
* **European Union Law (Emergency Provisions) Bill:** This would end the European Court of Justice’s control over national security, allow ministers to remove EU citizens whose presence is not conducive to the public good – including terrorists and serious criminals – and end the growing use of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to overrule British law.
* **European Communities Act 1972 (Repeal) Bill:** Ensures the European Communities Act 1972 – the legal basis for supremacy of EU law – is repealed. EU Treaties will cease to form part of British law and ECJ’s jurisdiction will end. Britain would cease to contribute to the EU budget. EU law to be transferred into domestic law with Parliament choosing what to keep, remove or amend.
* **Brexit Freedoms Bill:** Allowing the British Parliament to change or scrap retained European Union laws

Sectors such as automotive, financial services, insurance, chemicals, and processed foods should be priorities for liberalisation

British businesses involved in cross-border trade within the EU, particularly SMEs, need far better and more accessible information about the VAT declaration process. including the underlying rules and procedures that apply in other EU Member States. Any proposals from the Commission with the aim of reducing business burdens across the EU – such as the standard VAT return, and better online information – must achieve real savings for British businesses, and must not impose any additional burdens on them. Such proposals must also ensure they fully respect the principle of subsidiarity and the competences of Member States in relation to tax. The processing of VAT refunds by other EU Member States needs more rigorous monitoring. Where persistent delays occur, the Commission must act to enforce the existing legal limits.

### Flexcit approach (another option suggested)

* "Furthermore, although we advocate use of the "Norway Option" as our opening gambit, we do not rely on it. Rather, it is exactly as we frame it – an option. Should, for whatever reason, the EFTA/EEA route be closed to us, we have fallbacks, in the development of a "shadow EEA Agreement", either by adopting unilaterally the EEA acquis or by using another "off-the-shelf" package, such as the association agreements offered to Ukraine and other eastern European countries. And as a longstop, we have the Australian process"
* Only when we are past the immediate hurdle of the formal exit from the EU, with an exit agreement signed and ratified, does the work really start. We look to a longer-term settlement, and in particular the creation of a genuine, Europewide single market, possibly relying on the Geneva-based UNECE rather than starting afresh and reinventing the wheel. The essence here is to break the already weakening grip of Brussels as the standards-setter for the European trading area. And in so doing, we should be able to expose international bodies to greater scrutiny and accountability.
* But it is this idea of a 6-phase plan, integrating disparate points, which makes the market solution what it is. We start with phase 1 – the process of leaving the EU. We then move on to phase 2 – sorting out immigration and asylum. Phase 3 has us launching a genuine European single market, breaking free from the EU-centricity of Brussels and building a European village where every "house" is equal. In phase 4, we address the task of rebuilding independent policies, and phase 5 has us reinvigorating global trade, with the adoption and implementation of an 8-point programme. But there is then a 6th phase – the implementation of a process of domestic reform. As we have remarked earlier in the book, simply to withdraw from the EU and hand over the powers acquired by Brussels back to the parliament that gave them away in the first place is not a particularly attractive proposition.
* If we are objecting to the EU on the grounds that it is an anti-democratic organisation which does not permit democratic self-government, then simply replacing the autocrats in Brussels with their Westminster and Whitehall equivalents is not enough. Withdrawal must be accompanied by serious and farreaching domestic reforms which strengthen democracy in the Britain – and by the introduction of mechanisms to prevent our representatives ever again handing power to a supranational body.
* Britain announced the plans, despite opposition by Brussels, to introduce quotas for EU citizens. Under the proposal to be submitted to parliament, Britain claims the right to limit free access to the labour market due to serious economic or social problems.
* Plans for new offences have also been discussed, making it illegal for employers to cram migrants into mobile homes to cut accommodation costs and undercut domestic workers. With stronger enforcement of the national minimum wage – including prosecutions and the doubling of fines – and extended action against gangmasters employing illegal migrants in the social  care, hospitality and construction industries, the idea was "to create a fair framework that benefits domestic workers, prevents exploitation of foreign labour and reduces the demand for it". This was an opposition approach intended to tackle the factors that attract low-skilled migrants to Britain
* The government was also banning overseas-only recruitment, requiring agencies to advertise in English in Britain. Additionally, vacancies posted on the EU-wide jobs portal were to be massively restricted. Efforts were to be made to train British people, to enable them better to compete for jobs that might otherwise be taken up by migrants, while benefit caps were to be introduced, reducing the number who could obtain higher incomes on benefits than from gainful employment.
* The plan is also to remove in-work benefits for migrants until they had been in Britain for 4 years. Also, were prevented from qualifying for social housing until they had been resident for the same period. Additionally, child benefits and tax credits were not to be paid for children living elsewhere in Europe, no matter how long parents had paid taxes in Britain. EU jobseekers were not to be supported by Britain taxpayers; and they were to be removed if they had not obtained jobs within 6 months.
* Setting net migration from outside EU to 0
* The "other measures" were to include the abolition of the system where EU migrants could bring family members from outside the EU without any restrictions. There were to be tougher and longer re-entry bans for rough sleepers, beggars and fraudsters, and there would be stronger arrangements for deporting EU criminals and stopping them coming back. Furthermore, there was to be no access to the labour market for nationals of new Member States joining the EU until their economies have converged more closely with current members.
* Any effective policy, though, must be properly coordinated with other policy areas, as in "joined up policy“.

**Cutting red tape**

* An overarching and important lesson from the British Columbia (BC) model is that a substantial reduction in rules is possible without negatively affecting health, safety, and environmental outcomes
* Britain products will still comes with a CE and will be accepting CE-marked products
* Cut red tape so firms can use AI, reduce barriers to start-ups and scale-ups, cut red tape for business, make the most of cutting-edge technologies, and support growth and dynamism right across the British economy
* Amend matching adjustment and risk margins in Solvency II to release significant capital for investment, Solvency II laws that hold back investment by forcing insurers to hold huge sums of money on balance sheets; and ineffective banker bonus caps
* Pharma regulations can be scaled back as the British strives to become a global life sciences hub
* More climate friendly and nutritious food could be grown by relaxing EU constraints on gene editing and boosting innovation, by revamping the Novel Foods Act to help start-ups, such as those for meatless products
* IR35 is scrapped
* For any new employment law, at least 2 existing rules must be abolished. Employment law should be limited to the enforcement of employment contact with a legal minimum standard default contract, people absolutely need protecting from arbitrary dismissal
* Simplified, business-friendly rules on cross-border VAT to help British companies trade with all countries in the EU
* Streamline new customs and trade processes to reduce the burden of paperwork & prevent delays, need for agreement on safety markings for industrial goods — where differences will exist with the EU — and a veterinary deal to ease restrictions on the trade of plant and animal products
* Relaxing childminder rules, for one, would reduce parents' costs
* DWP unveils plans to save millions of pounds by slashing offices saying it has space for 60,000 more workers than it needs
* Slash food tariffs
* Non-Domestic Rating Public Lavatories Bill
* Bosses who have done their workers’ jobs make better leaders
* Government Scraps Bill to Stop Restaurants Stealing Tips
* Make it legal for parents to take their children out of school for 2 weeks for a holiday
* Allowing pension schemes to invest in companies that cut carbon emissions
* Changes to the energy grid and market to make greater use of low-carbon technology
* An update of agriculture rules
* Make Britain a global pioneer and leader in agile, adaptive regulation to increase productivity, competition and innovation
* Use digital sandboxes to test innovations more quickly and ensure regulation is based on evidence of impact.
* Regulators should introduce ‘scaleboxes’ to provide agile regulatory support to high growth innovative scale-up companies.
* Give regulators statutory objectives to promote competition and innovation in the markets they regulate.
* Delegate greater flexibility to regulators to put the principles of agile regulation into practice, allowing more to be done through decisions, guidance and rules rather than legislation.
* Give the Regulatory Reform Committee a remit to scrutinise all regulators and regulatory reform proposals. Bolster its resources, including with seconded experts, to carry out this expanded function.
* Include consideration of the wider effects of proposed policies in Regulatory Impact Assessments, including on innovation, competition, the environment, and trade.
* Establish a framework for regulators to report publicly on how they have promoted competition and innovation in the markets they regulate.
* Produce a simple annual innovation scorecard to assess departments and regulators on the markets they are responsible for.
* Embed our recommendations in the British Innovation Strategy, use non-legislative and existing regulatory powers where possible and make use of targeted primary legislation.
* Set a British standards strategy to promote the use of British standards internationally as a way to boost British influence and promote trade and exports.
* Enable Defined Contribution (DC) pensions schemes to diversify their investments into venture capital and businesses that drive Net Zero and levelling up commitments.
* Attract private investment to help regenerate local infrastructure and support the levelling up agenda
* Amend the age eligibility requirements for companies to access investment through EIS and SEIS to ensure businesses outside London and the south east benefit equally.
* Increase the maximum level of SEIS investment.
* Commit to the continuation of EIS beyond 2025.
* Create the ‘smart’ energy grid of the future, through interoperable data standards, reforms to the energy retail market, regulation, and licencing, and a new regulatory framework for smart appliances.
* Support the deployment of low-carbon technologies on to the National Grid, by accelerating creation of a platform to facilitate data-sharing across the energy sector, through shared data standards and interoperability.
* Create clear consistent technical and regulatory standards for ‘energy smart’ appliances to support their roll out - creating a more stable energy network in response to growing demands for energy.
* Modernise energy retail regulation to support novel and innovative participation in the energy market and improve consumer protections by using activity-based regulation rather than supply licenses.
* Reform the regulation framework for the retail energy market to enable innovative approaches to tariff pricing and new products.
* Prioritise investment in infrastructure in pricing negotiations with energy market operators.
* 9. Reform the current British regulatory framework governing energy generation and distribution to match the Government’s ambitions for green growth and Net Zero.
* 9.1. Fully implement the short-term findings of the Offshore Transmission Network Review, reforming offshore transmission connections to support disruptive ‘pathfinder’ projects in the industry.
* 9.2. Reform the regulatory framework for offshore wind to simplify responsibilities across government, and create a more coordinated offshore network that uses standardised designs and can link with interconnectors at scale.
* 9.3. Reform OFTO regulations to unblock industry coordination of offshore wind projects.
* 9.4. Review the Grid Code and other relevant technical codes and standards, to ensure they adequately support innovative net-zero and decarbonisation technologies.
* 9.5. Design and deliver an energy network ‘blueprint’ to support further delivery of offshore wind power.
* 9.6. Create a new regulatory framework for hydrogen via a new Office for Hydrogen in BEIS, encouraging investment and innovation in the sector.
* 9.7. Increase the legal limit on hydrogen blending by amending the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 2016.
* 9.8. Create a testbed British airport to act as a first-in-the-world location for trialling future Net Zero transport technologies
* 10. Create a new regulatory framework to support British leadership in the future of transport, promoting British transport R&D, digital sandboxes, and agile, anticipatory regulation that sets global standards.
* 10.1. Create a world leading regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles and other disruptive mobility solutions.
* 10.2. Develop and support sandboxes for autonomous vehicles, and other advanced trials of zero-emission passenger and logistics services.
* 10.3. Create a micromobility regulatory framework for the regulation of e-scooters and other emerging forms of micromobility on the road.
* 10.4. Empower the Civil Aviation Authority to better regulate the use of remotely piloted air systems (RPAS) (i.e. drones and UAVs), specifically to enable the use of RPAS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) by 2024.
* 10.5. Reconsider regulation to allow the spraying of plant protection chemicals from drones.
* 11. Establish a new British Clinical Trials Regulatory landscape to build on the success of the COVID-19 RECOVERY trial and British leadership in genomics, novel trial design, faster patient recruitment and use of disease cohort data to make the British a world leader in clinical trials.
* 11.1. Repeal the EU Clinical Trials Directive, and develop a replacement British Accelerated Access Translational Clinical Trials framework to restore global British leadership in clinical trials.
* 11.2. Make 60 days to first patient recruitment the new British standard by replacing the multiple layers of 3rd party ‘consent for consent’ with a simpler system based on allowing the use of CPRD public datasets and registries by the Health Research Agency to support trial recruitment.
* 11.3. Develop a network of Our Future Health digital patient portals to encourage engagement and uptake of Clinical Trials by patients with a patient default ‘Opt-Out’ of medical research process.
* 11.4. Reform Clinical Trials Units to ensure they standardise patient recruitment across Trusts and incentivise trial delivery through use of the National Costings Template.
* 11.5. Simplify and accelerate NIHR adoption and peer review process for trials that are fully funded with standardisation of costing tools across academic and commercial trials.
* 11.6. Streamline clinical trial set up by HRA adopting automated AI or digital processing of ethical and trials approvals.
* 11.7. The MHRA and HRA should accelerate the adoption of novel clinical trial processes through better digitising of trials applications and data and use of novel models like British Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP) and IMPACT with the capacity to deliver registration level trials.
* 11.8. Replace the Caldicott data guardians with a HRA Single Data Controller ‘One-stop shop’ for Health Research Information Governance with harmonised committees to reduce bureaucracy and standardise processes.
* 11.9. Establish a centralised health dataspine, where all data is stored for ease of access by approved users across the health network, with standardised format and approval routes for data collection and curation.
* 11.10. Reform the ICH GCP Guidelines 1995 to embrace the latest novel digital and biomarker end points, and replace ‘standard of care’ control arms with ‘synthetic control arms’ derived from RWE (Real World Evidence) and RWD (Real World Data).
* 11.11. Accelerate Access to innovation by establishing clear digital framework for Conditional Approvals and Adaptive Licensing of new therapies like gene therapies based on data including from the new Electronic Patient Recorded Outcomes Measure (EPROMs) dataspine.
* 11.12. Expand the MHRA remit and Innovation Team to include promotion of British leadership in innovative trial design, new accelerated access regulatory pathways, standardising format and approval routes for data collecting, curating and collation, and use of novel clinical and digital biomarkers and AI.
* 11.13. Set global Standards in Clinical Research Skills through a British professional standard for clinical trials research nurses, clinical trial managers, data managers & clinical trials pharmacists.
* 11.14. MHRA to work with stakeholders to establish a British Regulatory Innovation Hub on the same model as the US Centers of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSIs).
* 11.15. Regulation of medical cannabinoids and medicinal CBD should move from the Home Office to DHSC / MHRA to create a regulatory pathway for assessment and approval based on patient benefit.
* Establish a clear regulatory pathway for new digital health technology from approved health apps to integrated healthcare ICS system management to ensure the British is at the forefront of the digitalisation of healthcare.
* 12.1. Remove the barriers to adoption of health apps by creating a new digital health regulatory unit within the MHRA, responsible for establishing clear digital interoperability standards and an integrated regulatory pathway for development of Consumer Healthcare Apps.
* 12.2. Remove barriers to accelerate the integration of business-to-consumer digital health, and create a simple regulatory framework to help new companies develop tools that recruit, diagnose and treat otherwise hard-to-reach patients.
* 12.3. Remove barriers to local health prevention through the new ICS by establishing a digital framework for assessing Disease Cost and Population Health by each local authority area.
* 12.4. Reform GDPR to improve use of healthcare data by establishing federated models of data sharing and creating a joint sandbox between the ICO and the HRA.
* 12.5. Update regulations on medical devices to represent the latest technological advancements and to licence and adopt AI and AI software as a diagnostic device.
* 12.6. Remove the barriers to mental health apps by accelerating the integration of business to consumer patient wellness apps like IESO Healthcare with clinical neuroscience research networks like the Case Register Information System and NIHR research databases like Incliseran to create an integrated British digital health spine for mental health.
* 12.7. Extend the IAPT outcome measurement framework (or an IAPT like framework) to Children and Young People and to other therapeutic interventions (e.g. drug treatment) to be able to compare drug and non-drug therapy and conduct multimodal trials.
* 13. Replace EU rules with an integrated agri-environment framework which better supports the development of more environmentally sustainable agriculture, with more proportionate and evidence-based, outcomes-focussed regulation.
* 13.1. Promote a flexible, market based trading system for biodiversity offset credits.
* 13.2. Implement with urgency the data sharing provisions in the Agriculture Act 2020 to unlock data silos in agriculture and the environment.
* 13.3. Develop a comprehensive system of environmental metrics for sustainable agriculture, incorporating the environmental impacts of a production system from field to fork, to support clearer food labelling.
* 13.4. Develop a supportive regulatory environment to enable the development of and increased use of agri-tech to promote sustainable agriculture.
* 13.5. Simplify compliance with environmental licensing and permitting requirements, with the aim of moving from a mechanistic compliance-based system toward outcome measurement.
* 13.6. Deliver a common-sense solution to transitioning chemical registrations from EU to the British REACH.
* 13.7. Introduce further exemptions to Annex XVII of British REACH to allow the reuse of products in support of the British’s circular economy ambition.
* 13.8. Reform landfill surrender requirements to accelerate diversification away from landfill.
* 13.9. Adopt a risk-based approach to waste regulation to drive greater re-use of waste products.
* 13.10. Remove burdensome EU regulation on the animal feed industry, whilst maintaining rigorous safety standards.
* Interpret current GM rules on a case-by-case basis, to permit specific crops with proven benefits and which are consistent with the British’s rigorous standards on food safety and environmental protection.
* 16.1. Establish clear regulatory standards and definitions for ‘nutraceutical products and create a permissive environment for regulation of products with accepted science outcomes, to form a new easier nutraceutical product regulation pathway.
* 16.2. Encourage NIHR to gather data to support claims and enable research into products medicinal and health properties, lead on international standardisations and ensure a pathway to market, so that consumers are aware of the health benefits and better able to make informed choices.
* 17. Deliver other targeted regulatory reforms to reduce the regulatory burden on
* 17.2. Develop an optional e-labelling system for devices with screens or that can be connected to a screen, to display compliance information.
* 17.3. Repeal the Port Services Regulation 2019 (SI 2019 No. 575) to remove unnecessary, EU-derived regulatory burdens on UK ports.
* 17.4. Liberalise parallel import laws to reduce prices and increase choice for consumers.
* 17.5. Urgently review guidance on hand sanitisers so that tested, effective non-alcohol based sanitisers can be used.
* https://www.gov.uk/government/news/genetic-technology-bill-enabling-innovation-to-boost-food-security

## **Post Brexit**

* Free cultural work permit that gives visa-free travel throughout the 27 EU states for music touring professionals, bands, musicians, artists, TV and sports celebrities that tour the EU to perform shows and events & Carnet exception for touring equipment.
* Britain will still gain full access to EU policing data with information on criminal records, fingerprints and wanted persons as well as joining the European Arrest Warrant to allow the arrest and transfer of a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing state so that the person can be put on trial or complete a detention period
* European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) will remain valid until their expiry date but they're being replaced by British Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC)
* You can still travel to EU countries on your passport right up to the point it expires
* Passports are turning blue but you don't have to get a new one until your current one's close to expiry
* If you had a British driving licence you can drive in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland without any extra documents
* If you're a Britain licence holder living in the EU, the British Government says you should exchange your British driving licence for a local EU driving licence. The deadline for doing this depends on which country you live in. You may also need to retake your driving test depending on the country you're based in. If you return to live in the Britain, you'll be able to exchange your EU licence for a Britain licence without taking another test, so long as you got your initial licence from passing a test in Britain. EU licences will continue to be exchanged even after the transition period, so there shouldn't be a rush to exchange them during the transition period in particular.
* British citizens will face longer queues at passport control, as they use lanes for non EU-EEA passengers however can use the passport machines (e-gate) at arrival and departure
* As a tourist, you can now only visit EU countries for up to 90 days in a 180-day period. British nationals will need a visa if they want to stay in the EU more than 90 days in a 180-day period
* EU citizens must follow British laws.
* Tariffs are introduced on goods coming from the EU unless there are goods that cannot be made in Britain will be tariff-free (e.g. banana and coffee's etc.)
* Britain will follow EMA regulatory decisions
* British professional qualifications be recognised across the EU and vice verse the Britain and EU agreed on mutually recognising individual qualifications
* A “mutual recognition agreement” accepting the validity of each others’ safety testing regimes, pharmaceutical trade bodies on both sides
* The EU will have no legal right to fish in British waters nor to claim inflated quotas for resources that are predominantly in British waters. The EU will have to cut its cloth to reflect the loss of British waters from the common EU pot in order to comply with UNCLOS obligations to fish its waters sustainably. The EU has no right or legal standing to claim 90% of Channel cod, haddock and whiting quota nor North Sea herring when 60%-90% of catches are in British waters.

(There is no such thing as a ETIAS Travel Authorization or Entry/Exit System *(EES)*)

## **Britain-EU trade deal agreements**

* Britain will have the power and authority to control migration from the EU. They have no obligation to accept freedom movement of people
* The jurisdiction end of the European Court of Justice, so Britain will not be subject to ECJ ruling
* Britain will be able and allowed to pursue its own trade policies. No need to ask for consent of the EU
* Britain will no longer pay anything to the EU
* Britain exits the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy
* Britain do not have the authority to influence EU laws or regulations. The EU do not have the authority to influence Britain laws or regulations