The European Commission and UK government have announced agreement in principle on the revised legal terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, which includes a revised Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and revised political declaration on the framework of the future EU/UK relationship, including limited technical amendments to the previous Withdrawal Agreement.
Changes include requiring Northern Ireland to stay aligned to EU rules on VAT and excise for goods and retaining the EU customs code for goods entering Northern Ireland, with EU customs duties applied to any goods entering Northern Ireland where these ‘risk entering the EU single market’.
The revised Protocol is no longer a time-limited ‘backstop’ position, but it is intended to subsist for as long as it has the democratic support of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
While the prime minister struggles to get the new agreement approved by the House of Commons, EU Council president Donald Tusk described the situation as ‘quite complex following events over the weekend in the UK and the British request for an extension of the article 50 process’.
In his concluding remarks to the EU Parliament on the Council meetings of 17 and 18 October, Donald Tusk said: ‘After what I have heard today in this chamber, I have no doubt that we should treat the British request for extension in all seriousness’.
On 21 October 2019, the government introduced the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill (EU(WA)B) for its first reading in Parliament. The Bill makes provision for the ratification and implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in domestic law. It also makes provision for implementation of the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement and the Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement. The Bill contains provisions on various separation issues addressed in the Withdrawal Agreement, including the transition period, financial provision and the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. It incorporates several amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018), particularly for the purpose of legislating for transition, deferring several provisions from exit day to the end of the transition (or ‘implementation’) period.
On 22 October, the Bill passed the second reading with a majority of 30. But the government failed to get approval for the swift timetable that would have allowed it to pass through the House of Commons by Thursday.
The European Commission and UK government have announced agreement in principle on the revised legal terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, which includes a revised Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and revised political declaration on the framework of the future EU/UK relationship, including limited technical amendments to the previous Withdrawal Agreement.
Changes include requiring Northern Ireland to stay aligned to EU rules on VAT and excise for goods and retaining the EU customs code for goods entering Northern Ireland, with EU customs duties applied to any goods entering Northern Ireland where these ‘risk entering the EU single market’.
The revised Protocol is no longer a time-limited ‘backstop’ position, but it is intended to subsist for as long as it has the democratic support of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
While the prime minister struggles to get the new agreement approved by the House of Commons, EU Council president Donald Tusk described the situation as ‘quite complex following events over the weekend in the UK and the British request for an extension of the article 50 process’.
In his concluding remarks to the EU Parliament on the Council meetings of 17 and 18 October, Donald Tusk said: ‘After what I have heard today in this chamber, I have no doubt that we should treat the British request for extension in all seriousness’.
On 21 October 2019, the government introduced the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill (EU(WA)B) for its first reading in Parliament. The Bill makes provision for the ratification and implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in domestic law. It also makes provision for implementation of the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement and the Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement. The Bill contains provisions on various separation issues addressed in the Withdrawal Agreement, including the transition period, financial provision and the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. It incorporates several amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018), particularly for the purpose of legislating for transition, deferring several provisions from exit day to the end of the transition (or ‘implementation’) period.
On 22 October, the Bill passed the second reading with a majority of 30. But the government failed to get approval for the swift timetable that would have allowed it to pass through the House of Commons by Thursday.
