Take it or leave it: Theresa May and EU agree on Brexit withdrawal terms
The much-awaited draft was finally submitted to members of the government after Theresa May and EU negotiators agreed on an exit plan on Wednesday, November 14th.
Yes itās a mess - I tried trawling through the 585 page document draft, detailing the schedule UK departure from the EU and really found it difficult to find anything different to that we have all read and heard before through the rumour machine.
There are various (still) worrying aspects to this draft, not least that for a further 21 months Britain will be ceding control to Brussels with no oversight or input through the EU parliament or European Courts of Justice.
During this period there could, and in all probability will, be amendments to EU rules and regulations that we will be bound to abide by after this transition period.
Moreover, concerns that would be headlined by most of the readers here, there is no definite total figure that we will be paying to the EU over future years to āsettle the divorce billā.
The foreign direct investment (FDI) to the UK from outside of the EU has been in decline since reaching a peak in 2015 and has already fallen by 19 per cent since the Brexit vote
It seems likely that this will fall even further in the next five years according to the UK Trade Policy Observatory as "ā¦the British market is less attractive when it is a market of 65 million and not a market of 500 millionā¦"
UK and EU citizenās rights āappearā to be safe but, of course, that may still change during the transition period as indeed is the matter of the unsettled Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland customs territory agreement.
One factor that does seem resolved is that the European Court of Justice will no longer directly effect the UK after transition period is over.
Other concerns over Gibraltar, Cyprus, fishing rights and military/nuclear counter-signatories appear provided for.
Other than that, it still left me with an almighty headache of concern!
āThe European Council endorses the agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. On this basis, the European Council invites the Commission, the European Parliament and the council to take the necessary steps to ensure that the agreement can enter into force on 30 March 2019, so as to provide for an orderly withdrawal,ā the EC said in an official statement.
Why does the PM insist on saying āā¦Let me be clearā¦ā when in fact nothing that follows thereafter ever is?
ā¦so today, despite the EU judges in Luxembourg having now declared that Britain could stop the Article 50 process before the 29 March 2019 Brexit deadline (notably not far short of April Foolās Day!) and remain in the EU on the same terms as before the referendumā¦
So itās all still a messā¦ and the saga continuesā¦
