Out-Law News 3 min. read
02 Feb 2017, 4:29 pm
The 70-page 'white paper', which expands on last month's speech by prime minister Theresa May, sets out the government's 12 "negotiating objectives" for the Brexit process and its future partnership with the EU.
The document was published the day after MPs in the House of Commons voted in favour of the government's two-clause European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, by 498 votes to 114. The bill will return to the House of Commons next week for consideration of hundreds of proposed amendments, according to the BBC; before passing to the House of Lords for further debate.
David Davis, the government's secretary for exiting the EU, told MPs that the paper set out the government's "strategic aims" for the negotiations as well as the thinking behind them.
"[The paper] confirms the prime minister's vision of an independent, truly global UK and an ambitious future relationship with the EU," he said in a statement.
"These 12 objectives amount to one goal: a new, positive and constructive partnership between Britain and the European Union, that works in our mutual interest," he said.
The paper confirms the government's intention to seek a "bold and ambitious free trade and customs agreement" with the EU, which "should ensure the most free and frictionless trade in goods and services that is possible" without membership of the EU's single market. The government does not intend to seek single market membership as this would mean continued compliance with EU rules and regulations, including free movement of workers.
The UK will also "look to significantly increase its trade with the fastest growing export markets in the world" once it leaves the EU, according to its paper. Although EU rules prevent member states from negotiating individual trade deals, the government is "preparing the ground" for future arrangements which will "respect UK sovereignty" while providing certainty to businesses, according to the paper.
The paper confirms that the UK will take control of its own laws post-Brexit, and end the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on UK matters. All existing EU laws will be converted to UK law at the point of exit through a 'Great Repeal Bill', and the government intends to publish a second white paper which will set out its approach to this in detail.
The government also intends to prioritise maintaining the common travel area between the UK and the Republic of Ireland; controlling immigration to the UK from the EU; and protecting workers' rights as part of the Brexit negotiations. It has "not proven possible" to reach agreement with the EU to date on the rights of EU citizens already living in the UK and UK citizens living in other EU member states, but the government intends to come to an agreement "at the earliest of opportunity".
The paper states the government's intention to deliver a "smooth, mutually beneficial exit, avoiding a disruptive cliff-edge". The time needed to phase in post-Brexit arrangements may vary, for example on immigration controls, customs systems, cooperation on justice matters or future regulatory and legal frameworks for business, according to the paper.
The government has set itself a 31 March deadline of invoking article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and beginning the two-year process of withdrawal. However, it will not have the power to do so until the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill completes its passage through parliament and obtains royal assent.
Public policy expert and parliamentary agent Richard Bull of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that there was "still much to play for" despite the House of Commons vote in favour of the bill.
"With 103 pages of amendments so far tabled for consideration in Committee and passage through the House of Lords to come, the government's job is not yet done," he said. "Votes will be tighter at Committee stage, not least because most Labour MPs can be expected to unite behind the eight amendments tabled by Jeremy Corbyn."
"The vote is an emphatic acknowledgement of June's referendum and has averted a political crisis which would probably have resulted in a general election. But this is just one part of the process. It remains to be seen if the government will be able to notify the EU of its intention to leave by 31st March as the prime minister has insisted must happen," he said.