Transition Period (UK Brexit)

Exit day is next Friday.

The UK has now published Brexit access pages styled “Transition Period” – these pages are here.

However, few, if any, of the linked Guidance documents are updated.

This Blog does not focus on Tariffs. Here is the linked Guidance document about temporary import tariffs. Note this document is last updated on 8th October.

In practice, this policy on temporary import tariffs is likely to be reversed. The Times has a story about this, this morning, here.

The UK is expected to publish its negotiating objectives (for its trade deal with the EU) in February at the same time as the EU publishes theirs.

Please look out for further Blog posts in this area.

EU Law in UK 2021 (UK Brexit)

Exit day is 31st January (end of this month)

Implementation period completion day is 31st December (this is the end of the transition period)

The Chancellor speaking to the Financial Times, confirms there will be no dynamic alignment with EU Law after 2020.

I am not yet clear which laws will diverge, but please note the Brexit laws allow divergence, for example the Brexit Agriculture Bill provides for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to create their own marketing standards (Scotland will need to enact its own Brexit Agriculture Bill).

The EU Exit regulations (statutory instruments) we (Cardinal Environment) are consolidating into domestic law only deal with the pre-Brexit period to end Dec 2020.

It is the FT front page today (Saturday 18th January) and the lead on BBC online.

EU Law per se will not apply anyway. Note, there may be some long tail implementation left over from pre-Brexit that will be implemented.

We (Cardinal Environment) are already consolidating the EU Exit regulations into domestic law, and creating the Retained EU Law (EU Regulations, not Directives, that are adopted). Progress in this project can be seen by clicking the Brexit Consolidated Law List on the top right hand side of EHS Legislation Registers & Checklists homepages (both ENV and OHS).

We are working to the deadline of 31st December 2020 for completion of this project.

In addition, EHS Legislation Registers & Checklists will see the home page choice of ENV or OHS have additional Post-Brexit choices, and the existing links relabelled Pre-Brexit.

The Post-Brexit links will direct to shadow Registers & Checklists that will run from the end of Q1 to hit the end Dec 2020 deadline, for switch over to Post-Brexit.

Post-Brexit shadow Registers & Checklists running in 2020 will have Brexit Consolidated Law loaded (accessibility will stay from the main Brexit Consolidated Law list), and will display a changed Register layout.

Post-Brexit EHS Legislation Registers layout – EU Law will be moved from the top to below Guidance. We will still supply up to date EU Law to UK customers, but this is where it will be found. Retained EU Law will be displayed at the top of the Register.

Stormont Re-Start (Northern Ireland)

Following acceptance by political parties in Northern Ireland of The New Decade, New Approach Deal, Stormont will re-start after three years.

This means restoration to full operation of all the institutions of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, including the Executive, the Assembly, the North South Ministerial Council, the British-Irish Council and the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.

The following commitments in The New Decade, New Approach Deal are relevant for our purposes –

(1) The Executive will create an Executive Sub-Committee on Brexit.

The sub-committee will be chaired by the First Minister and deputy First Minister (or their nominated Ministerial representatives). The sub-committee will have at least one representative from each party on the Executive. As a matter of urgency the sub-committee will consider Brexit-related issues and will initiate, as soon as is practicable, an assessment of the impact of Brexit on the institutions and North/South and East/West relationships. The work of the sub-committee will be scrutinised by an Assembly Committee.

(2) The Executive will establish a central Translation Hub in the Department of Finance within three months of an agreement, in order to provide language translation services for the 9 Executive Departments, Arm’s Length Bodies, Local Government and Public Bodies.

The Assembly’s Standing Orders will also be amended to allow any person to conduct their business before the Assembly or an Assembly Committee through Irish or Ulster Scots. A simultaneous translation system will be made available in the Assembly to ensure that a person without Irish or Ulster Scots is not placed at a disadvantage.

(3) Representatives from the Northern Ireland Executive will be invited to be part of the UK delegation in any meetings of the UK-EU Specialised Committees or the Joint Committee discussing Northern Ireland specific matters which are also being attended by the Irish Government as part of the European Union’s delegation.

A powerful Joint Committee is established under the (international treaty) EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement to oversee that Agreement (for orderly UK exit from the EU). This Joint Committee will have Specialised Committees.

(4) The UK government will legislate to guarantee unfettered access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the whole of the UK internal market, and ensure that this legislation is in force for 1 January 2021. The UK government will engage in detail with a restored Executive on measures to protect and strengthen the UK internal market.

The Deal, alongside its two annexes, represents a possible outline of a Programme for Government. The parties agree to publish, within two weeks of the restoration of the institutions, the fuller details of an agreed Programme for Government. The parties recognise that the final Programme for Government will need to be agreed by the parties who form the Executive.

Within its first month of operation, the Executive will publish a legislative programme and indicative timescales which will complement the Programme for Government.

The following are relevant Deal commitments –

(1) The Executive will make its first priority to ensure the best possible Brexit outcome for citizens and the economy, reflecting the priorities set out in the letter of August 2016 from the First Minister and deputy First Minister to the Prime Minister.

(2) The Executive will invest urgently in wastewater infrastructure (the Living With Water Programme) which is at or nearing capacity in many places across Northern Ireland, including in Belfast.

(3) The Executive will tackle climate change with a new Energy Strategy to address the immediate and longer term impacts of climate change, and set targets and actions for transition to a zero carbon society.

The parties agree that, within 3 months, the new Executive will publish a comprehensive timetable for the development and delivery of this and other strategies necessary to achieve the outcomes in the Programme for Government.

(4) The Executive will introduce legislation and targets for reducing carbon emissions in line with the Paris Climate Change Accord.

Specifically, –

* the Executive will bring forward a Climate Change Act

* the Executive will establish an independent Environmental Protection Agency

* the Executive will create a plan to eliminate plastic pollution

* the RHI (Renewable Heat Initiative) will be closed down and replaced by a scheme that cuts carbon emissions.

Please also note the statements made by the Irish Government which also summarises the Brexit supports available to border regions.

The Deal document is here.

EU Law in UK 2020 (UK Brexit)

UPDATE (24th Jan) : UK Policy is NOT to implement beyond the Implementation period completion day

Exit day is 31st January (end of this month)

Implementation period completion day is 31st December (this is the end of the transition period)

The Withdrawal Agreement agreed between the UK and the EU in November 2019 will be ratified in the UK and the EU imminently. This will bring about an ordered UK exit from the EU, and initiate a Transition Period.

The Transition Period will operate for 2020. During the Transition Period EU law enacted and in force by 31st December 2020 will be implemented in the UK, even if it has implementation deadlines after 31st December.

UPDATE (24th Jan) : For our purposes, this means the 2018 EU Circular Waste Economy Package will be implemented in the UK. The 2019 EU Single-Use Plastics Directive would not be implemented.

In addition, EU laws already implemented in the UK but with long tail deadlines for e.g. product bans (e.g. menthol cigarettes) that apply after Exit day or after Implementation period completion day, will still apply in the UK.

The envisaged purpose of the Transition Period is for the UK and the EU to agree alternative arrangements for trade in goods, primarily, that will subsist from 1st January 2021.

For our purposes, this means the new UK chemicals regime, the new UK medicines regime, the new UK equipment label (UKCA Mark), and UK issued certificates of all kinds, will need to be in place by end of 2020. Expect unilateral arrangements for EU goods and chemicals etc circulation in the UK for a limited period after 31st December 2020. I Blog posted a few days ago about hops and the later date available for circulation of EU hops in the UK.

There could also be unilateral arrangements on the EU side for limited time-length goods circulation in the EU.

A key issue is acceptance on both sides of certificates issued, and the matter of double testing for chemicals, medicines etc.

Brexit Status – next steps (UK Brexit)

Exit day is currently set as 12pm CET 29th March 2019.

Yesterday, the UK Parliament voted down the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration package that had been agreed between the EU and UK to provide for an orderly exit.

On the UK side, although some laws are on the statute book, there is still substantive Brexit legislation that only exists in draft form, or not at all. But UK Technical Notices are published, and some Government ministries have issued more detailed information, notably HMRC, the Department for Transport, and the Home Office. Blog posts set these out (category UK Brexit Notices).

Subscribers to Cardinal Environment EHS Legislation Registers & Checklists have a continually updating Brexit Law List loaded to their UK systems (or jurisdictional UK variants).

On the EU side, EU Brexit Preparedness Notices are issued, and a Contingency Plan is in place, with a useful Q&A. Blog posts set these out (category EU Brexit Notices).

The international EU-UK land border is on the island of Ireland. I posted recently on Ireland’s Brexit Preparedness. An omnibus bill of measures will be introduced shortly. I updated my Blog post online, please scroll down the latest posts.

Next steps :

(1) today, the UK Government faces a no confidence motion, which it is expected to win

(2) Monday will see the UK Prime Minister give a statement to Parliament

(3) the next days will see the UK Government explore other sorts of arrangements for an orderly exit, and it is possible the exit day could be put back to give more time.

I will issue a new Blog post next week, with any progress made.

As I said in recent Blog posts, if subscribers to the Cardinal systems wish to set up a Brexit telecon with me, to run through specifics, please email me. At the moment, I am holding these telecoms at no extra charge.

Brexit Bill Tracker (UK)

The current state of Brexit Bills (Dec 5th 2018) is in the Institute for Government diagram depicted.

– Fisheries bill entered Committee stage yesterday

– Trade bill still missing in action in the Lords

– First bill *only* needed for no deal exit

– No sign of the Immigration bill (or white paper)

IF the UK Government loses the 11th December vote, the No Deal exit emergency legislation and instructions are published. I will post a new post then.

Current Brexit State 14 Nov 2018 (UK and EU)

EU and UK officials have agreed the text for the Withdrawal Agreement (a treaty) and Outline Political Declaration (on the future relationship between the UK and the EU bloc). This text was communicated to the UK at 9pm 12 Nov 2018, and the UK Cabinet will meet today at 2pm 14 Nov 2018. A vote of the UK Parliament, and of the European Parliament, is required, and each Member State must ratify.

Reminder : the UK is a Third Country from midnight CET 29 March 2019.

The EU has issued Brexit Preparedness Notices, and other Communications – here. I have posted about these.

Yesterday 13 Nov 2018, the EU issued a new Communication – here, and a new Travel Notice here. I posted this yesterday.

The UK has issued Technical Notices – here. I have posted about these.

France has agreed its Preparedness Law – the draft law is here. Further information is here. I have posted about this Law.

Some dates already apply now :

(1) pet vaccination

(2) online applications (UK) for ECMT International Road Haulage Permits (from 26 Nov 2018)

In the event, the Withdrawal Agreement and Outline Political Declaration text does not progress, further No Deal Instructions can be expected from 1st December 2018. HMRC and DfT already issued further No Deal instructions (I posted about these), and more can be expected.

In the event, the Withdrawal Agreement and Outline Political Declaration text does progress, and the Treaty is ratified, this will give a Transition/Implementation phase until Dec 2020, but the UK is still a Third Country from March 2019 (as above), albeit running under the arrangements put in place by the Withdrawal Treaty (in the UK this would be a Withdrawal and Implementation Act).

Business, charities and households must continue their preparations.

Please continue to follow and pay close attention to this Blog.

Current Brexit State (UK and EU)

The UK will exit the EU bloc at 11pm on 29 March 2019.

As of 31 October 2018, both sides have made good progress in negotiations on both the Withdrawal Agreement (for an orderly departure) and the political declaration on the future relationship. On the political declaration on the future relationship, the UK has proposals, and the UK and the EU have discussed each element of these, including the future customs arrangement.

Both sides will continue to work to finalise the Withdrawal Agreement and the political declaration on the future relationship. This is widely termed “the Deal”.

As set out in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the UK House of Commons must vote to approve the deal before the Withdrawal Agreement can be ratified. Member States of the EU27 must also ratify the deal, along with the European Parliament.

Brexit Preparedness planning and information continues. EU Notices were issued some time ago, and reported in this Blog. UK Technical Notices were issued more recently, and also reported in this Blog. The departure of the UK from the EU bloc is a substantive change, and there will be actions for business and individuals, and further Notices can be expected. Please read these Notices carefully and continue to follow this Blog closely.

New Fisheries Bill (UK)

The UK Government lodged its Brexit Fisheries Bill at First Reading on 25th October 2018. The Bill and its Explanatory Notes are here.

The Fisheries Bill (the Bill) will provide the legal framework for the United Kingdom to operate as an independent coastal state under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS) after the UK has left the European Union (EU) and the Common Fisheries Policy (the CFP). The Bill creates common approaches to fisheries management between the UK government and the Devolved Administrations, known collectively as the Fisheries Administrations, and makes reforms to fisheries management in England.

A couple of aspects to note :

(1) The Bill replaces the sustainability objectives currently in Art. 2 of the Basic Regulation of the Common Fisheries Policy (Regulation (EU) 1380/2013), making them objectives for the Fisheries Administrations or the Secretary of State.

(2) The objectives include the objective of securing that all UK fishing boats have equal access to UK waters. This is new.

(3) The Fisheries Administrations are required to publish a statement setting out the policies which would achieve or contribute to the achievement of those objectives. In addition, the Secretary of State is required to publish a statement setting out the policies that apply to England that achieve or contribute to the achievement of a number of objectives that apply only to the Secretary of State.

(4) The Fisheries Administrations are required to pursue the policies contained in the statements unless relevant considerations indicate otherwise.

(5) As expected for a Brexit Bill, when the UK leaves the EU, any access for EU and other foreign vessels to UK waters will be a matter for negotiation. The Bill revokes the EU legislation which currently provides for automatic rights for vessels registered in the EU to access UK waters. By revoking provisions in the Fishery Limits Act 1976, it removes the need to designate which countries’ vessels are able to fish in UK waters and introduces a new requirement that foreign vessels fishing in UK waters must be authorised to be in UK waters under international agreements or arrangements or must have a licence issued by a Fisheries Administration.

(6) The Bill revokes, replaces and clarifies existing powers for the Fisheries Administrations to license fishing in UK waters. For the most part, this is a consolidation of existing powers but the Bill makes several significant changes. It provides for equal access for UK vessels in UK waters by clarifying that licences issued by any Fisheries Administration are effective throughout UK waters. It also requires for the first time that foreign vessels are prohibited from fishing in UK waters unless they have a licence issued by a Fisheries Administration.

(7) As expected for a Brexit Bill, the Bill revokes EU legislation which currently sets UK fishing opportunities (quotas) and gives the Secretary of State powers to determine the UK’s fishing opportunities. Before doing so he must consult the other Fisheries Administrations. He must also make certain notifications, including a notification to Parliament.

(8) The Bill also introduces powers to enable annual fishing opportunities (quotas), which the Secretary of State can allocate to the English industry, to be sold to those in the English industry (attached to named English ports). This is new.

New Healthcare (International Arrangements) Bill (UK)

UPDATE : second reading is today 14 November 2018. Research briefing is here.

The UK Government introduced yesterday (26th October 2018) a Brexit Bill on the matter of international arrangements for healthcare once the UK has left the EU. The Bill and its Explanatory Notes are here.

The Bill provides the Secretary of State with powers to fund and arrange healthcare outside the UK, to give effect to healthcare agreements between the UK and other countries, territories or international organisations, such as the European Union (EU), and make provision in relation to data processing, which is necessary to underpin these arrangements and agreements.

The Bill was introduced as a result of the decision to leave the EU and is intended to enable the Government to respond to the wider range of possible outcomes of EU Exit in relation to reciprocal healthcare including the implementation of new reciprocal healthcare agreements.

A couple of aspects to note :

(1) The EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill (not yet lodged, and dependent on a deal being reached between the UK and the EU) would allow the UK to continue reciprocal healthcare during the Implementation/Transition Period (as provided for by the Withdrawal Agreement) following Exit day (and after the implementation period for those people covered by the Withdrawal Agreement).

But, it does not support long-term arrangements covering the general UK population after the Implementation Period. Further, the powers in the EU (Withdrawal) Act would not be sufficient for the UK to make provision in the event the UK does not reach agreement with the EU, but wishes to arrange for healthcare overseas for UK citizens, either on a unilateral basis or by means of bilateral agreements with individual countries.

(2) So the Bill provides the Secretary of State with powers which are necessary to arrange for the provision of healthcare overseas and to fund this, after the UK leaves the EU. The powers are required both in a deal and in a no deal scenario, and go beyond the EU sphere, to allow the Secretary of State to implement any new agreements on reciprocal healthcare which the UK puts in place with both EU and non-EU states should this be part of a global strategy.

(3) The powers enable the Secretary of State to address the essential matters relating to healthcare overseas, including defining individual entitlements to healthcare, and operational and administrative matters, including data sharing where necessary to facilitate treatment. This also includes being able to reimburse other states for healthcare costs, and to recover health care costs from them.