Draft Brexit agreement published

The UK and EU have reached a draft agreement for the “orderly withdrawal” of the UK from the European Union.

A copy of the draft agreement was made available on the European Commission’s Europa website today (19 March).

The transitional period for Breixt is set to last from 29 March, 2019 to December 2020.

The European Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group has issued the following statement in response to the draft agreement: “The European Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group welcomes the political agreement, in principle, of a transition period, although we reserve our right of scrutiny. We reiterate that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed and the European Parliament, as with the European Council, will decide independently whether the final negotiated withdrawal agreement is acceptable or not. We welcome confirmation that EU citizens coming to the UK will enjoy the same rights as those having arrived before the start of the transition period and that UK proposals advocating discrimination between EU citizens arrived before and after the start of the transition period have been rejected. We welcome the UK’s confirmation that the “backstop” solution to avoid any hardening of the Irish border, as proposed by the European Commission, will be incorporated into the withdrawal agreement.

“We also welcome the removal of article 32, which limits the right of onward movement for UK citizens in the EU27. We will continue to push for this right of UK citizens to be able to move freely within the EU 27, as we will continue to push for the rights of future spouses of EU nationals in the UK. In the same spirit, we will continue to push for the removal of any limitation on the return of EU citizens to the UK. Finally, concerning the ‘registration’ procedure for EU27 nationals, we will hold a special BSG meeting of the LIBE, AFCO, JURI and Employment Committees of the Parliament with the UK Home Office, in order to evaluate and assess the proposed system and ensure it is really ‘smooth, transparent and simple and that any unnecessary administrative burdens are avoided’.”

As previously reported, there are still issues which needed to be resolved. Much of the coverage in the UK media has focused in particular on the nature of the Northern Ireland border.

 

UPDATE: FTA RESPONDS TO BREXIT ANNOUNCEMENT

The UK-based Freight Transport Association (FTA) has described the announcement of a Brexit transitional period ending in December 2020 as a “welcome relief” for manufacturing and retail businesses exporting and importing from the EU.  However, FTA has warned that there is still much to agree on the detail of the UK’s departure from the European Union.

“After months of negotiation, the news that a transitional period is finally proposed by both sides is positive news for British business,” said James Hookham, Deputy CEO of FTA.  “But there is still a huge amount of technical agreement required to ensure that trade can continue to move between the UK and the European Union with as few delays as possible, if industry and businesses are not to be left with huge breaks in their supply chains, at the end of the transition period.

“By ratifying the transitional period to run over the next 20 months, negotiators will be granting business a welcome breathing space in which to formulate plans and learn new processes for trade after December 2020.  However, this timescale and its detail is still to be formally ratified by both sides, and with the inherent risk of a ‘no deal’ outcome at the end of negotiations, business should be wary of complacency and plan accordingly.”

Consequently, FTA is asking for clarification on the processes which will enable trade to continue to move smoothly, as well as the staff needed to support the sector.

“Today’s news from Brussels is welcome, as far as it goes,” Hookham continued.  “We seem to be getting more time to agree the new border procedures and there is some confidence that UK employers will be able to continue to employ EU nationals up until the end of the transition and beyond, as long as those are permanent residents in the UK or frontier workers.  But business still needs to know what customs and trade procedures look like after the transition period:  the customs duties and taxes, the formalities required in the UK and the arrangements for border inspections of goods, the number of trucks that will be allowed to cross the border and the arrangements for the recognition of drivers’ licences and qualifications.

“Clarification in these two areas is a good start but we are still a long way from achieving low friction trade after Brexit.  The transition period is welcome but it still leaves a lot for government and industry to achieve in an incredibly short space of time.”