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| Article 50 Week: When Britain Officially Bid "Adieu" To Europe | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 27 2017, 02:51 PM (311 Views) | |
| Webster | Mar 27 2017, 02:51 PM Post #1 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) EU's chief Brexit negotiator warns of 'distinct possibility' UK will leave with no deal --This is the week that will see Theresa May triggering article 50, starting the purportedly irreversible process that will see Britain sliding down the slipway and leaving the EU after two years. Today May is in Scotland, giving a speech touching on this and holding what promises to be a very awkward meeting with Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has emerged her most threatening UK opponent over Brexit. Two other opposition forces, Labour and Ukip, are also setting out their conditions for Brexit. Across the channel the main obstacle to UK Brexit success may turn out to be Michel Barnier, the European commission’s lead negotiator on this issue. He has written an article for today’s Financial Times (paywall) politely raising threats and conditions and it is well worth reading. Here are the main points. --Barnier says there is a “distinct possibility” that the UK and the EU will fail to strike a deal. That would have “severe consequences”, he says. It goes without saying that a no-deal scenario, while a distinct possibility, would have severe consequences for our people and our economies. It would undoubtedly leave the UK worse off. Severe disruption to air transport and long queues at the Channel port of Dover are just some of the many examples of the negative consequences of failing to reach a deal. Others include the disruption of supply chains, including the suspension of the delivery of nuclear material to the UK. --He says the UK will have to reach an early agreement about paying money an exit fee to the EU as it leaves for the talks to succeed. He does not set out how much he expects the UK to pay, although it has been repeatedly reported that it will demand about €60bn (£50bn). He says: Beneficiaries of programmes financed by the European budget will need to know if they can continue relying on our support. There is no price to pay to leave the EU but we must settle our accounts. The 27 member states will honour their commitments and we expect the UK to do the same — because it is the mutually responsible way to act. Barnier cites this as one of three issues that need to be addressed early in the negotiations. The other two are guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals in the UK and Britons living in other EU states, and not undermining peace in Northern Ireland. He goes on: If we cannot resolve these three significant uncertainties at an early stage, we run the risk of failure. Putting things in the right order maximises the chances of reaching an agreement. --He reaffirms his desire to negotiate the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU before negotiating a future trade deal. The British government wants to negotiate both in parallel. But Barnier says: This means agreeing on the orderly withdrawal of the UK before negotiating any future trade deal. The sooner we agree on these principles, the more time we will have to discuss our future partnership. --He says the EU will be “fair yet firm” in the talks in defending the interests of its 27 members states. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:11 PM Post #121 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) French president rejects May's proposal to negotiate UK's withdrawal and new trade deal in parallel --François Hollande, the French president, told Theresa May in a telephone call this morning that he was opposed to negotiating the UK-EU trade deal at the same time as withdrawal from the EU. The exit terms had to be settled first, Reuters reports. The outgoing French president told May in a telephone call that the negotiations must be held in a “clear and constructive manner, so as to lift uncertainties and to fully respect the rules and interests of the 27-member European Union”. A statement from Hollande’s Élysée office said: The president indicated that the talks must at first be about the terms of withdrawal, dealing especially with citizens’ rights and obligations resulting from the commitments made by the United Kingdom. On the basis of the progress made, we could open discussions on the framework of future relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Yesterday, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, also said that she was opposed to EU withdrawal and the new trade deal being negotiated in parallel. This morning, David Davis admitted there would be an argument about this. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:14 PM Post #122 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) 'Great repeal bill' will lead to parliament passing 1,000 new orders, Brexit department says --David Davis, the Brexit secretary, was due to make his statement on the great repeal bill at 11.30am, but proceedings in the Commons are running late, and it looks at it will be closer to 12pm before it starts. Overnight, the Brexit department (or DExEU, as it is officially known – the Department for Exiting the European Union) – issued a briefing saying that up to 1,000 new orders would have to be passed to enable the government to transfer EU legislation into UK law. It is referring to statutory instruments, a form of secondary legislation. Here is an excerpt. The white paper, entitled Legislating for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, will set out how the government plans to correct a significant proportion of EU law that will cease to work appropriately when converted into UK legislation. The use of secondary legislation will not be available to make policy changes that are not designed to deal with deficiencies in EU-derived law. Secondary legislation is a process of longstanding. In the previous two parliaments, an average of 1,338 (2005-10) and 1,071 (2010-15) statutory instruments were made per year. The corrections to EU law now required are estimated to need between 800 and 1,000 statutory instruments. These will largely effect mechanical changes that ensure laws function properly after EU exit, and will be in addition to those necessary for other purposes than leaving the EU. Statutory instruments have been used to implement much of the EU law already on the statute book, with almost 8,000 having been passed to do so. The reform will be essential to make corrections to law that does not operate appropriately, with appropriate scrutiny for secondary legislation, to allow parliament sufficient time to fully scrutinise substantive policy changes that will need primary legislation — such as new immigration and customs bills. Devolved administrations are expected to be given equivalent means to correct EU law that has been implemented at a devolved level, and a broader commitment to devolve more power to them as part of the process of bringing control of laws back to the UK. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:15 PM Post #123 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) May signed second article 50 letter, No 10 reveals --Downing Street has revealed that Theresa May signed two article 50 letters. “The purpose of the second letter was that it was date-stamped by the European council,” the prime minister’s spokesman said. “That letter returned by Eurostar and the letter will now be kept by Number 10.” The letters were signed personally and identical, he said. The returned copy is not on display, but is kept in Downing Street as a record. “It’s purely procedural, that’s what normally happens, I just didn’t want it being revealed at a later date,” the PM’s spokesman said. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:16 PM Post #124 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) David Davis's statement on great repeal bill --David Davis is making his Commons statement now. He says the government wants a smooth and orderly Brexit. The great repeal bill will be essential to that. This will end the supremacy of EU law, he says. He says some people say parliament will not have enough of a role in the Brexit process. This shows “just how wrong” that view is. Davis says there are three elements to the great repeal bill (GRB): **It will repeal the European Communities Act. **It will convert EU law into UK law, he says. **And it will create powers allowing ministers to correct the laws that do not operate appropriately. He says the the GRB will create a power to correct the statute bill when problems resolve. This will be done by secondary legislation, he says. This power will be time-limited. And he says parliament will need to be satisfied that these procedures are appropriate. He says he is not proposing a new form of government executive order. He is referring to a legislative process of long standing (ie, Henry VIII powers). He says there will have to be a discussion between government and parliament about how this works. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:17 PM Post #125 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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--David Davis proposes to assume all the existing ECJ case law AFTER we have left the EU. So much for ridding ourselves of hated institution. (Dan Roberts, The Guardian - 30 March 2017) |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:18 PM Post #126 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Davis says UK courts will continue to take account of ECJ case law after Brexit --Davis says the European court of justice will not have a role after the GRB has been passed. But he says the UK courts will continue to use EJC case law when making their judgments, because they will be implementing law that came from the EU. He says ECJ case law will have the same status as UK case law. Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, is responding now. He says the new powers in the GRB are sweeping, but questions whether there are sufficient safeguards. He urges Davis to assure MPs that he will face down attempts to water down existing rights under EU law. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:54 PM Post #127 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) In the Commons Nick Clegg, the former Lib Dem leader, has just praised David Davis for ignoring the views of some of his anti-European colleagues and preserving items of EU law they hate. Davis jokes that, after a commendation like that, his career is over. Davis says the government will not be publishing a draft great repeal bill. But it will take onboard points made during the white paper consultation. In the Commons the Tory MP Christopher Chope asks Davis to confirm that the bill will give parliament the power to get rid of “ghastly” EU legislation. Davis says it will be for parliament to decide what it wants to do. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:56 PM Post #128 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) What the white paper says about the 'Henry VIII' power ministers are getting to change laws --This is what the white paper (pdf) says about the new Henry VIII power that the great repeal bill will give to ministers to allow them to use secondary legislation to change primary legislation as EU law is imported into UK law. (The white paper does not use the term Henry VIII power, which is generally seen a pejorative. But this is what is is talking about.) To overcome the challenge set out above, the great repeal bill will provide a power to correct the statute book, where necessary, to rectify problems occurring as a consequence of leaving the EU. This will be done using secondary legislation, and will help make sure we have put in place the necessary corrections before the day we exit the EU ... It is crucial that the government is equipped to make all the necessary corrections to the statute book before we leave the EU to ensure a smooth and orderly withdrawal. To achieve this, the power to enable this correction will need to allow changes to be made to the full body of EU-derived law. This will necessarily include existing primary as well as secondary legislation which implements our EU obligations, as well as directly applicable EU law which will be converted into domestic law once we leave. It will also include the power to transfer to UK bodies or ministers powers that are contained in EU-derived law and which are currently exercised by EU bodies. This does mean that the power will be wide in terms of the legislation to which it can be used to make changes. Therefore, it is important that the purposes for which the power can be used are limited. Crucially, we will ensure that the power will not be available where government wishes to make a policy change which is not designed to deal with deficiencies in preserved EU-derived law arising out of our exit from the EU. Additionally, we will consider the constraints placed on the delegated power in section 2 of the ECA [European Communities Act] to assess whether similar constraints may be suitable for the new power, for example preventing the power from being used to make retrospective provision or impose taxation. -Read more: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/604516/Great_repeal_bill_white_paper_accessible.pdf |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:57 PM Post #129 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) The Conservative MP Grant Shapps says he is going to try to impose 10-year sunset clauses on the EU laws being imported into domestic law, apart from employment and environmental protection laws. This means they would lapse after 10 years. Shapps says this would ensure that parliament does look at these, and considers whether or not there is a case for renewing or reforming them. (1) Welcome #GreatRepealBill, but will propose 10yr Sunset Clause on all but workers' rights & env't so Parliament can fully scrutinise 50k laws (2) Great to have #GreatRepealBill certainty, but must nudge future parliaments to scrutinise 50k laws never queried, via a 10yr sunset clause |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 04:58 PM Post #130 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) The SNP’s justice and home affairs spokeswoman, Joanna Cherry, asks Davis in the Commons if the GRB will require legislative consent motions from the Scottish parliament. Legislative consent motions are required when the UK parliament legislates on an area that is the responsibility of Edinburgh. The Scottish parliament uses a legislative consent motion to show that it is happy to have London trespassing on its turf. Davis says at this point he does not know. Labour’s Kevin Brennan asks if there will be a separate vote on leaving the EEA (the European Economic Area). Davis says there will be votes on many things as part of the process, and that he thinks that is quite probable. **Davis says MPs will probably get a separate vote on leaving the EEA. This is significant because this could become a flashpoint for those MPs who accept the need to leave the EU but who want the government to adopt “the Norway option”, EEA membership. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 05:00 PM Post #131 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() (The Guardian) Juncker says Brexit will make EU stronger --Brexit is not the end of the European Union, but will make it stronger and better, one of Europe’s most senior leaders has said, the day after Britain filed its notice to leave. Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European commission, said Brexit must be seen as “a new beginning, something that is stronger, something that is better”. He was speaking at a gathering of centre-right leaders in Malta, where the hall rang with speeches extolling patriotism and Christianity. Juncker also took aim at Donald Trump’s satisfaction over Brexit. He said: The newly elected US president was happy that the Brexit was taking place and has asked other countries to do the same. If he goes on like that I am going to promote the independence of Ohio and Austin, Texas. Another EU leader rejected the central tenet of the Brexit campaign, that leaving the EU allowed the UK to ‘take back control’. Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, said it was “dangerous and foolish” to believe that leaving the EU would increase a country’s ability to influence the world. He said Eurosceptics had presented the EU as a threat to national and state sovereignty... This is a view, which is both foolish and dangerous. Our mission should be to make Europeans realise that it is exactly the opposite. That a strong EU capable of being sovereign in relation to the external world … is the best and perhaps the only guarantee of national and state sovereignty. Sovereignty was at the centre of the successful leave campaign, from the slogan ‘take back control’, to declarations by the leading Brexiteer, Boris Johnson, that the referendum was Britain’s “independence day”. Many EU figures are sceptical about this view, because they think the EU allows small countries to magnify their economic and diplomatic clout. Tusk argued that words such as “security, sovereignty dignity and pride” needed to be reclaimed from populists and nationalists. Values were a strong theme of the conference. Manfred Weber, the German Christian Democrat who leads centre-right in the European parliament, declared that Europe had to speak up about its Christian roots, in a speech where he repeated his long-standing view that Turkey should not join the EU. Christianity is engaged in the DNA of our continent, Christianity is the soul of Europe. He was joined in this call by Antonio Tajani, the recently-elected president of the European parliament. Tajani, an ally of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, said: “We shouldn’t be ashamed of saying we are Christian.” |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 05:02 PM Post #132 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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--So the option of retaining the EEA Single Market STILL exists... David Davis says vote to repeal it would 'depend on policy decision' (Chris Leslie, Labour MP for Nottingham East - 30 March 2017) |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 05:03 PM Post #133 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Here is the Green MP Caroline Lucas on the great repeal bill white paper.... (1) #GreatRepealBill huge Gov't power grab that could undermine 40 years of environmental and social protections with no Parliamentary scrutiny. (2) Far from being 'technical', #GreatRepealBill is huge attack on our democracy: Gov wants unlimited power to amend law. We will fight this. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 05:04 PM Post #134 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) The great repeal bill sets out for the first time the definitive account of the numbers of laws that may need to be converted into domestic law - around 8,000 laws. It says there are currently 12,000 EU regulations in force. In the UK, there are “7,900 statutory instruments which have implemented EU legislation” with 186 acts of parliament “incorporating a degree of EU influence”. |
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| Webster | Mar 30 2017, 05:04 PM Post #135 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) On the World at One Ireland’s ambassador to the UK, Daniel Mulhall, also spoke out against Theresa May’s proposal to negotiate Britain’s withdrawal from the EU in parallel with the proposed UK-EU trade deal. He said: I think normally, in any situation, you would first of all - if a country wants to leave an arrangement - you would discuss the departure first before you discuss what kind of relationship you might want to have in the future. |
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