Below are some of the key issues included
in the British Prime Minister’s Brexit White Paper, which was extracted from
the Guardian Newspaper as she prepares to trigger Article 30 on or before the
end of March 2017.
Sovereignty, great repeal bill and control of UK laws
The paper says the British
parliament has been sovereign throughout the UK’s EU membership, “but it has
not always felt like that” – a striking comment.
It says the government will bring
forward a separate white paper on the great repeal bill, which was first
announced by May in her Conservative party conference speech last year to
remove the European Communities Act of 1972 from the UK statute book and convert
the body of existing EU law into domestic law.
The paper confirms that “wherever
practical and appropriate” the same rules and laws will apply in the UK on the
day after it leaves the EU as did before.
It also confirms that the
government intends to “take control of our own laws”, which will mean “bringing
to an end the jurisdiction of the European court of justice in the UK” and
establishing a new mechanism for resolving future disputes between the UK and
the EU.
The union and Ireland
The paper says the government
will “work with the devolved administrations on an approach to returning powers
from the EU that works for the whole of the UK and reflects the interests of
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales” but does not go into specifics.
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It also promises that no
decisions currently taken by the devolved administrations will be taken away
from them, and indeed that more decisions will be devolved (it does not say
which). And it says it will pay particular attention to the Isle of Man,
Channel Islands and Gibraltar, all of which have unique relationships with the
EU.
On the island of Ireland and the
common travel area with the UK, the paper notes the UK and Irish economies are
“deeply integrated” and says the government will work to “develop and strengthen”
those ties after Brexit.
It says it aims to retain “as
seamless and frictionless a border as possible” between Northern Ireland and
the Republic, and wants Irish and UK citizens to be able to continue to move
freely north-south and east-west, “while protecting the integrity of the UK’s
immigration system”. Again, it does not say how.
Immigration and reciprocal citizens’ rights
On the rights of EU nationals
living in the UK and vice versa, the white paper goes no further than May’s
speech.
It says securing their status is
“one of this government’s early priorities for the forthcoming negotiations”
and reiterates that “the UK remains ready to give people the certainty they
want … at the earliest opportunity”. (The EU-27 have always seen this as part of
article 50 negotiations).
It says it is consulting with
expatriate groups abroad and EU businesses and other groups “to ensure we
understand their priorities”, and “recognises the priority placed on easy
access to healthcare by UK nationals living in the EU” – a key concern of many,
particularly pensioners.
On controlling immigration, the
paper offers no clarity. It says the government is “considering very carefully”
the options open to it and working to “understand the impacts on the different
sectors of the economy and the labour market”.
Businesses and communities will
be able to contribute their views, it says, and suggests – for the first time
with regard to immigration – that “there may be a phased process of
implementation”, to give companies and individuals time to plan and prepare.
It says EU students can continue
to come and study, in the short term at least, but says nothing about future
access for EU workers. It also says workers’ rights under EU law will be
preserved after Brexit.
EU trade, single market, customs union and budget
The white paper reiterates that
the government aims to secure “the freest and most frictionless trade possible
in goods and services” with the EU outside the single market and via “an
ambitious and comprehensive free trade agreement”.
It also wants to be outside the
customs union, so it can negotiate its own trade deals, but would like “a new
customs agreement”, which should be theoretically possible thanks to new
technology. Again, this does not go further than May’s speech.
We are told once more that the UK
will not seek to adopt an existing model used by other countries, but try to
“take in elements” of the single market in certain areas – in other words,
bespoke deals for important business sectors. From the EU perspective, all this
is ambitious: it sounds suspiciously like cherry-picking.
The paper plays up the financial
services card, which the government plainly considers a strong one: the EU has
a clear interest in “mutual cooperation arrangements”, it says, describing the
City as Europe’s only global hub for money, trading and investment on which the
EU will continue to rely.
It confirms the UK will leave the
Euratom treaty, the legal framework for nuclear power, but says a new
relationship will be negotiated, and it says the UK’s future status with EU
agencies regulating areas such as medicines, aviation, food safety and
financial services will also be part of discussions.
And there will be no more “vast
contributions” to the EU budget, as May already said.
Trade with other countries; research
The paper repeats May’s pledge to
make the UK a “champion of free trade” and says it will seek bilateral free
trade agreements and participate in multilateral negotiations through the World
Trade Organisation.
It acknowledges Britain “cannot
agree new trade deals until after we have left the EU” – a possible bone of
contention with the EU27 – but says there is “much we can do to prepare and to
achieve now while respecting our obligations as members”.
It also says work is already
under way on establishing Britain’s own schedules covering trade in goods and
services at the WTO, aimed as far as possible at replicating those it currently
has as an EU member.
The paper also says Britain aims
to “continue to collaborate with EU partners” on a key part of its new
industrial strategy: science, research and technology. Many academics expect
this to become considerably more difficult after Brexit.
Security and crime cooperation
As May has already said, the UK
will seek to continue working with the EU “to preserve UK and European security
and to fight terrorism and uphold justice across Europe”, the paper says.
It says the government will aim
to retain and develop existing cooperation in initiatives like Europol, the
European arrest warrant, the Schengen information system, the new EU passenger
name records, and the European criminal records information system.
In terms of security and defence,
it also promises to “remain committed to European security and add value to EU
foreign and security policy” – an offer that may well prove valuable in the
exit negotiations.
Orderly exit
The white paper says the
government aims to deliver “a smooth, mutually beneficial exit” but says this
will require “a coherent and coordinated approach on both sides”. Article 50
will be triggered no later than the end of March, it repeats.
It acknowledges it is “in no
one’s interests for there to be a cliff-edge for business or a threat to
stability”, saying the government would like “to have reached an agreement
about our future partnership” by the end of the article 50 process and
repeating May’s suggestion of variable “phased processes of implementation” to
give everyone time to plan and prepare for the new arrangements.
The paper also reiterates the
prime minister’s remarks that “no deal for the UK is better than a bad deal for
the UK” – and suggests that, to mitigate against the impact of not getting the
deal it wants from the EU, the government will prepare legislation “to ensure
our economic and other functions van continue”.
It does not say what the
legislation will contain, or what future economic model the government might
envisage.
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