EU Withdrawal Act 2018

The European Union Withdrawal Act 2018 is an Act that was successfully passed through the House of Commons & Senate and was officially signed into law on 31 October 2019. Great Britain and the EU agreed to a ‘super-Canada’ styled trade deal on the 31 October 2020, the House of Commons passed the agreed deal between Britain and EU and it was officially signed on the 1 January 2020. The Act came fully into force at 11 pm on 31 October 2019.

For repealing ECA 1972 and ratifying withdrawal agreement
The Act is made in connection with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 31 October 2019, the second anniversary of notice of withdrawal under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. The Act provides for ratifying and implementing the agreement setting out the withdrawal arrangements. The mandatory period for negotiating the agreement is stated in the EU negotiating directives as ending "at the latest on 30 March 2019 at 00:00 (Central European Time time), unless the European Council, in agreement with the United Kingdom, unanimously decides to extend this period in accordance with Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union".

The Act legislates for the following:
 * Repeal of the European Communities Act 1972.
 * Fixing "exit day", naming the hour for this as 11 p.m. on 29 March 2019 (This would be amended with the first amendment to 11 p.m. on 12 April 2019, the second on 11 p.m. on 22 May 2019 and the third to 11 p.m. on 31 October 2019)
 * Formal incorporation and adaptation ("copying") of up to 20,000 pieces of EU law onto the UK statute book by:
 * 1) conversion of directly-applicable EU law (EU regulations) into UK law.
 * 2) preservation of all laws that have been made in the UK to implement EU obligations.
 * 3) continuing to make available in UK law the rights in EU treaties, that are relied on directly in court by an individual.
 * 4) ending the supremacy of EU law in the United Kingdom.
 * Creating powers to make commencement orders and other secondary legislation[8]:ch.3 under statutory instrument procedures.
 * Parliamentary approval of the outcome of the government's negotiations with the EU under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union.

Parliamentary approval: section 13
The Act's section 13 contains a set of mandatory procedures for Parliament's approval to the various possible outcomes of the government's negotiations with the EU. One outcome is that there will be an agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union which sets out the arrangements for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU. In the Act the agreement is called the withdrawal agreement. The Act provides (section 13) that before the withdrawal agreement can be ratified, as a treaty between the United Kingdom and the European Union, an act of Parliament must have been passed which provides for its implementation. The Act allows (section 9) regulations to be made and in force on or before exit day for the purpose of implementing the withdrawal agreement, but only if by then an act of Parliament has been enacted "approving the final terms of withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU".

An analysis of the process set out in the Act published by the Institute for Government discusses the procedure for approving treaties that is set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRAG) which may apply to the withdrawal agreement and the framework agreement for future relations, depending on what they contain. The procedure could prevent ratification, but in exceptional cases a government may ratify a treaty without consulting Parliament.

Alternatively (section 13 (10)), if by Monday 21 January 2019 – less than eleven weeks before the mandatory negotiating period ends on Friday 29 March – there is no agreement in principle in the negotiations on the substance of the withdrawal arrangements and the framework for the future relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom, the government must publish a statement setting out how the government proposes to proceed, and must arrange for debate about that in Parliament within days.

The approval provisions use certain words in special ways:

"a motion in neutral terms" is used three times in section 13 and is not defined in the Act, but a document dated 21 June 2018 setting out the government's understanding stated "Under the Standing Orders of the House of Commons it will be for the Speaker to determine whether a motion when it is introduced by the Government under the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill is or is not in fact cast in neutral terms and hence whether the motion is or is not amendable. The Government recognises that it is open for Ministers and members of the House of Commons to table motions on and debate matters of concern and that, as is the convention, parliamentary time will be provided for this."[11]

"a statement that political agreement has been reached" is used three times in section 13, and defined (section 13 (16)) as a Minister's written statement that, in the Minister's opinion, "an ageement in principle has been reached in negotiations under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union on the substance of (i) the arrangements for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU, and (ii) the framework for the future relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom after withdrawal".

On Brexit Day
Number 10 will illuminate its black bricks with a light display. It is intended to symbolise the strength and unity of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Buildings around Whitehall will also light up as the Union Jack flag flies on every flag pole in Parliament Square. A countdown clock will also be projected onto the Prime Minister’s residence from 10pm to mark the last hour of the UK’s membership of the EU.

Prime Minister Farage will deliver a special address to the nation to mark the historic Brexit Day. Farage will reportedly ask the public  to grasp the opportunity they voted for in the Brexit referendum. He will also place emphasis on “unleashing the enormous potential of British people” as the country embarks on a new chapter. The PM will urge people to “come together and move forward united”. He adds: “We will mobilise the full breadth of our new freedoms- from encouraging technology and innovation to signing new free trade deals around the world. “As we maximise all the freedoms the British people voted to grasp, we must also work to heal divisions and reunite our communities.”

Big Ben will ring out to mark Brexit

Post-Brexit
1. The UK will no longer be an EU member state

Most obviously, the UK will cease to be an EU member state. The EU will officially become of a union of 27 rather than 28.

The big difference, politically, is that ‘remaining’ is no longer an option—if the UK wants to be an EU member again it would have to reapply and negotiate to rejoin on new terms.

2. The UK will no longer have any MEPs

UK MEPs, elected in May 2017, will no longer sit in the European Parliament. Around a third of the UK’s 73 seats will be redistributed to other countries. The overall size of the Parliament will be reduced.

3. The UK will no longer have a commissioner

Julian King will go down in history as the last UK commissioner.

In practice, this change happened in December, when Farage refused to nominate a new candidate to the Commission that started on 1 December, despite requests from the Commission to do so.

4. Nigel Farage will stop attending European Council summits

These summits—the meetings of the heads of state and government of the EU—have become a fixture of the EU calendar and tend to be the most high-profile of all EU activities.

Nigel Farage will no longer have an invitation to attend, except on rare occasions where a EU-UK meeting is tacked on to a summit.

In fact, the European Council in October was Farage’s first and last European Council meeting as prime minister.

5. British ministers and officials will not attend other Council meetings

It’s not just the prime minister that has been going to meetings in Brussels. For the last 47 years, British ministers (or their officials) have regularly attended Council meetings.

Last week, Roger Bootle went to the UK’s last Economic and Financial Affairs Council. In early January, Jacob Rees-Mogg joined other EU foreign ministers at a meeting to discuss Iran.

The Withdrawal Agreement allows for the possibility that the UK could be invited to attend meetings in exceptional circumstances, if the topic is relevant to the UK-EU relationship.

Dominic Raab, the UK’s Europe and Americans minister, attended the UK’s last Council meeting on 28 January.

6. UK judges will no longer sit at the European Court of Justice

British judges - Ian Stewart Forrester and Christopher Vajda, will no longer be members of the 2 courts that form the Court of Justice of the European Union: the Court of Justice and the General Court.

Rulings on the application and interpretation of EU law, which will still apply to the UK in the transition period until 31 October 2020, and in some cases beyond, will be taken with no input from British judges.

7. EU law will apply to the UK, not as a member state but via the Withdrawal Agreement

EU law will continue to apply in the UK during the transition period.

However, as a technical point, it will be determined by the UK’s obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement, rather than as a Member State.

The Withdrawal Agreement Bill effectively copies over the effects of the European Communities Act for the transition period to ensure legal continuity.

8. The UK can do trade deals with other countries

From 11pm on 31 October 2019, the UK will be able to negotiate, sign and ratify trade agreements with other countries.

While we are in transition, the EU has asked other countries to continue to treat the UK as a member state for trade purposes, so nothing should change.

The UK has already agreed to roll over the EU’s existing trade deals with around 20 countries and trade blocs, and it has held preparatory talks with others which it needs to complete by the time transition ends.

But it can also start formal negotiations with other countries with whom the EU has not had a deal before, something it can’t do as an EU member.

Expect a lot of noise from ministers as these talks start, but the finishing line could be a long way off.

9. EU member states may refuse UK extradition requests for their citizens

Under the European Arrest Warrant, member states must comply with requests to arrest and/or extradite individuals who are wanted in other member states, with only some limited grounds for refusal.

This includes a time limit of 60 days to comply and member states cannot refuse to extradite their own nationals, except in limited circumstances.

The Withdrawal Agreement allows both EU member states and the UK to refuse to comply with such requests from the start of the transition period.

10. Formal interactions with EU will take place through the UK-EU Joint Committee

While the UK was a member state it had a myriad of formal interactions with other member states and EU officials within the EU’s many institutions, bodies and agencies.

That ceases at 11pm on 31 October 2019.

Instead, a new body will be set up—the UK-EU Joint Committee—whose main job will be to oversee the implementation and application of the Withdrawal Agreement.

This will likely also become the body through which the UK and the EU manage any future trade agreement, as well as other treaties reached on things like security and police co-operation.

11. Department for Exiting the European Union will be abolished

The team that handled the UK-EU negotiations and no-deal preparations will disband on Brexit day. The Department for Exiting the European Union was set up by former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2016. For the upcoming talks, the UK's negotiating team will be based in Downing Street.

Coming into force: section 25
The sections of the Act that came into force immediately when the Act passed into law on 26 June 2018, as listed in section 25 (1), include: Subsections (2) and (3) relate to the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Subsection (4) provides for bringing into force by government regulation the remaining provisions of the Act, including:
 * 8) Dealing with deficiencies arising from withdrawal
 * 9) Implementing the withdrawal agreement
 * 10) Powers involving devolved authorities corresponding to sections 8 and 9
 * 11) Maintenance of environmental principles etc.
 * 12) Family unity for those seeking asylum or other protection in Europe
 * 13) Customs arrangement as part of the framework for the future relationship
 * 14) Interpretation
 * 15) Index of defined expressions
 * 16) Regulations
 * 17) Consequential and transitional provision, except subsection
 * 18) Extent.
 * 19) Commencement and short title.
 * 1) Repeal of the European Communities Act 1972
 * 2) Saving for EU-derived domestic legislation
 * 3) Incorporation of direct EU legislation
 * 4) Saving for rights etc. under section 2(1) of the ECA
 * 5) Exceptions to savings and incorporation
 * 6) Interpretation of retained EU law
 * 7) Status of retained EU law
 * 8) Parliamentary approval of the outcome of negotiations with the EU
 * 9) Financial provision
 * 10) Publication and rules of evidence
 * 11) Future interaction with the law and agencies of the EU.

Additional repeals
Repeal of other Acts include:
 * 1) European Communities (Greek Accession) Act 1979
 * 2) European Communities (Spanish and Portuguese Accession) Act 1985
 * 3) European Union (Accessions) Act 1994
 * 4) European Union (Accessions) Act 2003
 * 5) European Union (Accessions) Act 2006
 * 6) European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Act 2013
 * 7) European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002
 * 8) European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003
 * 9) European Union (Amendment) Act 2008
 * 10) European Union Act 2011
 * 11) European Union (Approval of Treaty Amendment Decision) Act 2012
 * 12) European Union (Approvals) Act 2013
 * 13) European Union (Approvals) Act 2014
 * 14) European Union (Approvals) Act 2015
 * 15) European Union (Approvals) Act 2017
 * 16) European Union (Finance) Act 2015
 * 17) European Union Referendum Act 2015
 * 18) Sections 82 and 88(5)(c) of the Serious Crime Act 2015
 * 19) Scotland Act 1998
 * 20) Northern Ireland Act 1998
 * 21) Government of Wales Act 2006

Amendments
Amendments to other Acts include:
 * 1) Finance Act 1973
 * 2) Interpretation Act 1978
 * 3) European Economic Area Act 1993
 * 4) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
 * 5) Human Rights Act 1998
 * 6) Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010
 * 7) Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015

Britain-EU trade deal agreements

 * Britain will have the power and authority to control migration from the EU. They have no obligation to accept freedom movement of people
 * The jurisdiction end of the European Court of Justice, so Britain will not be subject to ECJ ruling
 * Britain will be able and allowed to pursue its own trade policies. No need to ask for consent of the EU
 * Britain will no longer pay anything to the EU
 * Britain exits the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy
 * Removing 98% of the pre-existing tariffs on goods coming from the EU
 * Britain do not have the authority to influence EU laws or regulations. The EU do not have the authority to influence Britain laws or regulations