Brexit White Paper A View

City of London

THE FUTURE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

The Government’s Brexit White Paper - An Overview

When the new Brexit Secretary; Dominic Raab MP outlined the Government’s Brexit White Paper to Parliament, he said it was “principled, pragmatic and ambitious” and it provides for an “innovative and unprecedented partnership.” In full knowledge that the statement will be heard not only in Westminster but in Brussels too, he presented the White Paper as a serious offer from the Government to reach an agreement in both the UK’s and EU’s mutual interest and he said he hoped the EU’s response would be in a similar vein.

Since then we have seen it is not wholly welcomed in Parliament, and there is serious disquiet in the Conservative Party over it. Conservative Voice surveyed nearly 300 members and found 70% oppose the Government position.  In addition the response from Brussels has not been very welcoming to the white paper either, and so we remain unclear as to the likely outcome at this time.

However, here are the main claims from the White Paper (many of which such as the role of the CJEU have been disputed already):

 ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

  • The Paper recognises that the UK and the EU will not have current levels of access to each other’s markets.
  • The proposals build on the principles of international trade and the precedents of existing EU trade agreements, and reflects the UK-EU unique starting point.
  • The paper confirms the Government’s divergence from mutual recognition as the preferred model for financial services, proposing instead “a new economic and regulatory arrangement, based on the principle of autonomy for each party over decisions regarding access to its market, with a bilateral framework of treaty-based commitments to underpin the operation of the relationship.”
  • It is proposed that reciprocal recognition of equivalence under all existing third country regimes, should take effect at the end of the implementation period. Future determinations of equivalence would be an autonomous matter for each party.
  • The UK/EU relationship would be codified via an Association Agreement.
  • The UK’s proposal for the economic partnership would establish a free trade area which would include a common rulebook for agriculture, food and fisheries products, encompassing rules that goods must be checked at the border, alongside equivalence for certain other rules, such as wider food policy.
  • The UK’s proposal for a common rulebook on agri-food includes relevant Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) rules, which safeguard human, animal and plant health.

INDEPENDENT TRADE POLICY

  • The UK would be able to pursue an ambitious bilateral trade agenda, taking full advantage of the flexibility its proposal for the future economic partnership provides.
  • This would include agreements with the US, Australia and New Zealand.
  • The UK will potentially seek accession to Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and this would be on terms consistent with the future relationship with the EU, and domestic priorities.
  • On services, the UK would seek to achieve provisions at the cutting edge of global best practice, reflecting both the great potential to deepen services trade worldwide, and the significance of services trade to the UK which is growing at a faster rate than the trade in goods.
  • The Paper states the UK’s ambition to push for “greater liberalisation of global services, financial services, investment and procurement markets, and seek ambitious digital trade packages.”

FRAMEWORK FOR MOBILITY

  • Individuals will continue to be able to move, live and work on the same basis as now up until the end of December 2020.
  • The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report, due in September 2018, will provide important evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy to inform the UK’s future immigration policy. Further details of the UK’s future immigration system will be set out following that report.
  • Any future mobility arrangements will be consistent with the commitment to end free movement, respecting the UK’s control of its borders and the Government’s objective to control and reduce net migration.
  • The UK would seek reciprocal arrangements that would allow UK nationals to visit the EU without a visa for short-term business reasons and equivalent arrangements for EU citizens coming to the UK. This would permit only paid work in limited and clearly defined circumstances, in line with the current business visa policy.
  • The UK also wants to agree reciprocal provisions on intra-corporate transfers that allow UK and EU-based companies to train staff, move them between offices and plants and to deploy expertise where it is needed, based on existing arrangements with non-EU countries.

SECURITY PARTNERSHIP

  • The Paper proposes an ambitious partnership with the EU that goes beyond existing precedents in this area, covering:
    • mechanisms for rapid and secure data exchange;
    • practical measures to support cross-border operational cooperation; and
    • continued UK cooperation with EU law enforcement and criminal justice agencies
  • The UK is committed to ensuring full compliance in the implementation of SIS II and other EU data exchange measures in which the UK participates in the future.
  • The Paper remains unclear on the UK’s future relationship with Europol. It states that the existing arrangements for third countries would not be appropriate for the UK “in part due to the sheer volume of activity the UK participates in and the data that the UK shares.”
  • Similarly, on Eurojust, the paper states that mirroring current third country arrangements would provide “fewer opportunities for the UK to contribute to the work of Eurojust and reduced capability for the UK and the EU to cooperate in tackling serious cross-border and organised crime.”
  • The Paper commits to a new UK-EU strategic dialogue on cyber security to continue close cooperation in specific EU programmes and agrees to a framework to work together internationally to promote shared values.
  • On data protection, the White Paper states that UK and the EU should agree specific arrangements that support ongoing cooperation. These include data protection arrangements that provide for the continued exchange and protection of personal data between the UK and the EU and allow for ongoing cooperation between authorities.
  • This differs to the Government’s previous request for a bespoke arrangement, instead accepting that “adequacy” will be the mechanism governing the relationship.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

  • Where disputes arise between the UK and the EU on the binding treaty-based commitments, new institutional arrangements would apply, with formal disputes raised through a ‘Joint Committee’ of officials from both parties.
  • Should efforts to resolve a dispute by negotiation fail after a defined period of time, either party would have the option of referring the issue to an independent arbitration panel, which would include members from both parties.
  • These arrangements would reflect that EU institutions, including the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), will no longer have the power to make laws for the UK and the principles of direct effect and of the supremacy of EU law will no longer apply in the UK.

The new institutional arrangements should respect the UK’s sovereignty and the EU’s autonomy