World News | Crunch Brexit Talks Begin Amid Row over Divorce Agreement
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Crunch Brexit talks to thrash out a trade agreement between the UK and European Union (EU) got underway on Tuesday amid a brewing row over the so-called divorce deal struck earlier this year, ahead of Britain's formal exit from the economic bloc on January 31.
London, Sep 8 (PTI) Crunch Brexit talks to thrash out a trade agreement between the UK and European Union (EU) got underway on Tuesday amid a brewing row over the so-called divorce deal struck earlier this year, ahead of Britain's formal exit from the economic bloc on January 31.
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The current transition period after that exit ends at the end of December before which both sides must agree the terms of their future relationship or end up with a no-deal Brexit.
The EU's Chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, arrived here to kick-start what is expected to be a crucial round of talks to strike an agreement with Britain's negotiator, David Frost.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set an October 15 timeframe to reach a mutually agreed plan for the future of UK-EU relations. However, the talks have been overshadowed by a brewing row over Johnson's plan to override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement, or divorce bill, signed on January 24.
The government plans to table proposals in Parliament on Wednesday to give UK ministers unilateral legal powers to oversee elements of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the UK territory which shares a border with the EU member-state of Ireland.
Amid anger from Brussels and Dublin, Downing Street insists that the measures are “limited and reasonable” and would remain compliant with the Northern Ireland Protocol.
However, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis admitted to MPs in the House of Commons on Tuesday that it would have an impact on international law but insisted the legal breach would be in a "very specific and limited way".
The minister explained it was because the government was trying to "disapply" EU law and added there are "clear precedents for the UK and other countries needing to consider their international obligations as circumstances change".
His statement came as it emerged that Jonathan Jones resigned as one of most senior legal advisers and civil servants amid concerns that the plans would undermine parts of the Withdrawal Agreement. Jones' resignation means Johnson's six top civil servants have now stood down this year, including the heads of several departments.
"This resignation indicates that senior government lawyers think that the government are about to break the law,” said Lord Charlie Falconer, Opposition Labour's Shadow Attorney General.
"The government is trashing the best of the UK; we are a law abiding country and the government have some serious questions to answer," he said.
On the Brussels side, Barnier said honouring the existing agreement was a "precondition" for progress to be made in trade deal negotiations this week.
But Downing Street has indicated that Johnson did not believe the Withdrawal Agreement – originally negotiated by his predecessor, Theresa May – made sense, as the UK internal market and the peace process would be "compromised by unintended consequences" if it was not amended.
Johnson had renegotiated the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, removing the so-called Irish "backstop", before signing off on the terms of Britain's exit from the 27-nation bloc in October last year.
The current legal default position, without a new trade deal, is that after December 31 all goods passing from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland would be subject to customs checks and tariffs, that businesses in Northern Ireland would have to fill in customs declarations for goods being sold to the mainland, and that EU rules on state aid could be applied to mainland companies selling goods in Northern Ireland. But it is feared that parts of the protocol may be contradictory in favour of the EU single market, which the UK wants to exit completely.
"We have now been talking for six months and can no longer afford to go over well-trodden ground. We need to see more realism from the EU about our status as an independent country,” said Frost, in reference to the latest round of talks.
“We have repeatedly made clear that key elements of our position derive from the fundamentals of being a sovereign state, and it's time for the EU to fully recognise this reality. If they can't do that in the very limited time, we have left then we will be trading on terms like those the EU has with Australia, and we are ramping up our preparations for the end of the year," he said.
The negotiators have struggled with some fundamental issues, including the so-called level playing field aspect which means measures to ensure businesses on one side don't have an unfair advantage over their competitors on the other.
The EU wants closer alignment to its rules but the UK is averse to that as it would amount to a filtered-down version of Brexit.
Another sticking point has been fishing, with the UK wanting full access to the EU market to sell its fish, but in return the EU wants full access for its boats to fish in UK waters. Another area of disagreement is the governance of any future agreement and the role of the European Court of Justice.
An EU summit in mid-October is seen as an unofficial deadline for completing the broad contours of a deal, which would then need to be turned into legal text and translated into all EU languages before ratification by parliaments on both sides. However, that deadline is looking increasingly in doubt with the possibility of further deadlock.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)