The European Union on Thursday called on Britain to delete passages violating the legally binding Brexit agreement from the controversial bill. However, the government in London has indicated that it does not intend to change anything in the internal market norm, which, according to EU diplomats, further reduces the chances of successful talks on future relations between the EU and its former member state.
At the end of the eighth round of blocked negotiations, the main heads of the negotiating teams, Michel Barnier and David Frost, met on Thursday, but did not report on progress. Their meeting in the media was overshadowed by the extraordinary visit of the Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič to London. According to a press release from the EC, the Slovak politician emphasized in a meeting with the British Minister Michal Gov that if the British Parliament approves the proposal, it will be an “extremely serious violation” of the agreement on the British withdrawal from the EU and international law.
According to the British media, the proposal prepared by the government of Boris Johnson in the event of the collapse of the negotiations violates London’s obligations regarding competition and the customs regime in Northern Ireland. Contrary to last year’s Brexit Treaty, the text stipulates that no controls will be imposed on goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain, and that the British government will have exclusive competence in matters of state aid to companies. The standard explicitly states that the above points will be valid even if they are in conflict with international treaties.
On Thursday, Shefcovich called on Gove to remove Britain from the draft passage “as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the month.”
However, the British government has indicated that it does not intend to change the text and has published a legal analysis that parliament will not break the law by approving a proposal that is contrary to Britain’s international obligations. Parliamentary debate on the new standard will be on the agenda on Monday.
The Vice-President of the EC in London recalled that the Brexit Treaty contains legal instruments to address “breaches of legal obligations arising from the text which the European Union will not be reluctant to apply”.
Gove, on the other hand, said after the meeting, according to Reuters, that the market law is fundamental and that he hopes for its adoption. He added that he still believes in the progress of negotiations in the coming weeks.
Britain left the EU at the end of January and has been negotiating a form of future partnership for several months. EU diplomats agree that the current move by London seriously jeopardizes further negotiations, the eighth round of which ended on Thursday. Barnier and Frost have long shown that the views of both parties are very different on some points and did not announce their rapprochement on Thursday.
Negotiators are struggling to find an agreement, for example in the area of competition rules or access for EU fishermen to British waters. In recent days, there have been increasing voices from both sides that if no compromises can be reached by October, it will be necessary to prepare for a break-up without an agreement. This would occur after the end of the transitional period at the end of the year.
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