Brexit Weekly

01 March 2018

Commission's draft Article 50 Withdrawal Agreement, General Affairs Council (Art. 50), Theresa May's ‘three basket approach’ to future trade deal, EU customs union, Irish border after Brexit, migration from the EU and more.

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  Articles from 22 February 2018 - 01 March 2018

  Brexit & UK
 
 
Brexit: European Commission publishes draft Article 50 Withdrawal Agreement
Michel Barnier said that, to avoid a hard border in Ireland, "Northern Ireland has to be covered by the Union customs code". The top EU Brexit broker insisted that the ECJ should oversee the process and rejected the British demands to be able to reject regulation from the EU during transition.  View Article
Main results - General Affairs Council (Art. 50)
EU27 ministers discussed the state of play of the Brexit negotiations and started the preparations for the European Council (Article 50).  View Article
The Guardian: EU27 rule out UK's preferred approach to future trade deal
The ‘three basket approach’ would breach the agreement to prevent cherry-picking, said Brussels, describing the model as a risk to the European project, just as Theresa May was seeking to strike an agreement on the way forward within her cabinet.  View Article
The Guardian: UK's hopes for post-Brexit trade deal an illusion – Donald Tusk
Theresa May’s reported agreement with her cabinet on a future trading relationship with the EU has been criticised as based on “pure illusion” by the European council president, Donald Tusk, as frustration with the UK erupted in Brussels.  View Article
BBC: Liam Fox warning of customs union 'sellout'
Any form of customs union with the EU after Brexit would be a "complete sellout" for the UK, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said. A former top aide to Fox warned that quitting the EU would be like "giving up [a] three course meal [...] for the promise of a packet of crisps in the future."  View Article
The Guardian: Tories seek legal advice on vote after Jeremy Corbyn backs customs union
Conservative MPs have sought legal advice about the prospect of Theresa May losing a parliamentary vote on a post-Brexit customs union as Jeremy Corbyn made clear that it had now the support of Labour, the Guardian understands.  View Article
Financial Times: A customs union would avoid the worst of all post-Brexit worlds
The EU is likely to approve such a deal, but it would also impose stringent controls, writes Wolfgang Münchau.  View Article
House of Lords' EU Committee: Tensions in UK position on Brexit and Irish border need to be ‘settled now’
The EU Committee wrote to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to raise concerns about the lack of clarity on how the Government will resolve the tensions between its aspirations to leave the customs union, avoid a hard border on Ireland and ensure no new regulatory barriers with the UK.  View Article
Bloomberg: UK to face EU resistance to key Brexit border pledge
The European Union is set to oppose turning Theresa May’s pledge to avoid a border in the Irish Sea after Brexit into a legal guarantee, according to a diplomat familiar with the matter.  View Article
Department for Exiting the EU: EU citizens arriving in the UK during the implementation period
This paper sets out the terms under which EU citizens and their family members arriving in the UK during the implementation period will be able to continue living here beyond the end of that period.  View Article
The Times: May U-turn on rights for EU migrants after Brexit
EU citizens who arrive in Britain during the post-Brexit transition period will be allowed to stay permanently under a U-turn planned by Theresa May.  View Article
The Guardian: Net migration of EU nationals to Britain falls by 75,000
Net annual migration of EU nationals to Britain has fallen by 75,000 in the past year to its lowest level for five years as the “Brexodus” gets under way, official figures show.  View Article
Financial Times: Britain, the EU and post-Brexit regulation
Assuming that by “mutual recognition agreements” Mr Davis means the EU’s, well, Mutual Recognition Agreements, this is misleading  View Article
BBC: Sir John Major: Give MPs a free vote on Brexit deal
MPs should be given a free vote on whether to accept or reject the final Brexit deal, Sir John Major has said.  View Article
The Guardian: UK to lose EU rebate in 2021 'in extended Brexit transition'
The UK will lose its rebate from the EU at end of 2020 if it seeks to extend the Brexit transition beyond then, the Guardian has learned.  View Article
The Guardian: Brexit transition extension could cost Britain £5bn, MPs say
The UK government has been told that extending the transition period after Brexit would expose Britain to £5bn of new EU contributions without any say about how the money is spent.  View Article
The Guardian: The Brexit economy: things are starting to deteriorate
The British economy is showing signs of deteriorating just as the government attempts to reassert its vision for Brexit, according to a Guardian analysis of economic news over the past month that highlights the country’s increasingly fragile position on the world stage.  View Article
Commercial Risk Europe: UK insurance industry urges government to ‘get on with’ Brexit transition
Major players in the UK insurance industry are calling for “urgent progress” on post-Brexit transition plans, warning their government to stop “over-complicating” matters and “get on with it”. Meanwhile, the UK regulator has said it is unlikely to overhaul Solvency II rules after Brexit.  View Article
 

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