British cabinet approves draft Brexit plan, releases it to public

RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 14:11 UTC

© Reuters / Simon Dawson

London, UK, November 13, 2018

Britain's cabinet has backed Theresa May's EU withdrawal agreement, the prime minister has confirmed. She said that the deal is the best that could be negotiated and is in the interest of the country.

The official text of the draft agreement consisting of 585 pages was published by European Commission.

Top British ministers debated whether to support the deal during a five-hour meeting inside 10 Downing Street, with some having been invited to the prime minister's office a day before to read it.

May said the plan is the "best that could be negotiated," adding that the "collective decision of [the] cabinet" was to push ahead with the deal.

"And I firmly believe with my head and my heart that this is a decision that is in the best interest of our entire United Kingdom,"she said.

She added that the plan is the result of "thousands of hours of meetings." The deal was reached as the deadline for Brexit - March 2019 - was looming and many expressed concern that the divorce would not happen.

May noted that the deal will come under "intense scrutiny," while saying she is aware that "there will be difficult days ahead."

May declined to answer questions from the media, saying she will make a statement in parliament on Thursday.

Despite the agreement being backed by the Cabinet, she is still facing fierce opposition, including from Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg who wrote a letter to his colleagues urging them to vote against the deal in Parliament.

He lays out his disapproval of the plan in four parts, including the fact that the UK will be required to hand over £39 billion to the EU "for little or nothing in return" and will lock Britain into an EU customs union and EU laws.

Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) who campaigned for a hard Brexit, has tweeted his disapproval following May's announcement, calling the plan the "worst deal in history" and calling out any "genuine Brexiteers" who supported it.

Responding to the announcement, Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt said the deal makes Brexit possible while still allowing Britain to maintain a close relationship with the European Union.

"While I hope one day the UK will return, in the meantime this agreement will make a Brexit possible, while maintaining a close relationship between the EU and UK, a protection of citizens rights and the avoidance of a hard Irish border,"he said.

The circumstances of Britain's exit from the European Union has been long negotiated, and Wednesday's approval of the deal puts an end to any uncertainty surrounding Britain's future in the European Union. It also ends the possibility of a messy "no deal" Brexit.

Those who are against Brexit, including Labour MPs David Lammy and Chuka Umunna, took particular note of one part of May's announcement, in which she spoke of three options - this deal, no deal, and no Brexit.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon spoke out against the deal before it was agreed, calling it bad for Scotland.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has recommended the EU hold a summit with the UK this month.

The EU's Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the deal brings legal certainty on the consequences of Brexit, and called it a determining step towards ending the drawn out negotiations.

Barnier also warned that much work still needs to be done in the process of the UK exiting the EU, and that the road to an orderly Brexit won't be an easy one.

He declined to comment when addressed with the question of what the EU will do if the British parliament rejects the Brexit deal, which is still a possibility.

Comment: Donald Tusk says that the deal will be signed on November 25, barring any "extraordinary" turn of events:

After meeting with Brexit EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, Tusk said that there was "no doubt" that Brexit is "a lose-lose situation," describing negotiations over the UK's exit as "only about damage control."

"In the next days, we will proceed as follows. The agreement is now being analyzed by all the member states. By the end of this week, the EU27 ambassadors will meet in order to share their assessment of the agreement."

He said that European Commission will likely approve the deal by Tuesday.

"The Commission intends to agree [to] the declaration about the future with the UK by Tuesday. Over the following 48 hours, the member states will have time to evaluate it, which means that the EU27 Sherpas should conclude this work on Thursday. Then, if nothing extraordinary happens, we will hold a European Council meeting, in order to finalise and formalise the Brexit agreement. It will take place on Sunday 25th November at 9:30."

Barnier added: "Our work is not finished. We still have a long road, a long road, ahead of us on both sides." The EU's negotiator said that the remaining work needed to hammer out the text that will dictate the future relationship between the EU and UK will be "intense."

Sturgeon, however, was fine to weigh in on that possibility, saying that if it is rejected by Parlimaent "then the UK government must return to the negotiating table to secure a better one."

Comment: Brexit backers aren't pleased with May's 'deal':

As for the 'deal' itself, here are some particulars:

Irish border remains the main obstacle

Northern Ireland seems to get the most out of it - the region is set to abide by the UK customs rules, yet still follow regulations of the union. The draft document effectively treats Northern Ireland as a separate entity from the rest of the UK, since local goods are set to bear special markings.

When the transition period ends, then the UK has the following options - to extend the period, staying in the customs union with the EU (which is the same as before Brexit, but without actual say on the policies), while accepting that Northern Ireland follows internal EU rules. The EU legislation will apply to industrial, agricultural and environmental goods, yet it will be policed by British officials.

Another option is to somehow find a solution to keep the Irish border open, as the document reaffirms the EU's and the UK's "intention" to replace the "backstop" solution "by a subsequent agreement that establishes alternative arrangements for ensuring the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland on a permanent footing."

The draft agreement contains a review provision for the backstop, which can be triggered unilaterally by the UK, yet has to be discussed by a joint commission with the EU.

Theresa May's EU withdrawal agreement leaves the UK in a "halfway house with no time limit on when we will finally become a sovereign nation," said Northern Ireland Minister Shailesh Vara in his letter of resignation. Scottish politicians were also unhappy with Northern Ireland getting preferential treatment.

Movement of people

While the UK will leave the EU on March 29, 2019 while still remaining inside the bloc's single market as a "single customs territory" until the end of the transition period, some three million EU citizens in the UK, and over one million UK nationals in the remaining 27 EU countries, will continue to enjoy the rights to live and work as they have now.

The condition to "enjoy equal treatment with the nationals of that state" is applicable to EU and UK citizens and their family members that have lived abroad within the block for the last five years. Those persons will also maintain their rights to social security benefits including healthcare and pensions.

Fishing

The UK will remain bound by Common Fisheries Policy until the end of the transition period, after which London will seek to become "an independent coastal state." Britain, however, will still be "consulted" on "fishing opportunities" and will take part in the decision-making process of the bloc. This term may potentially cause more troubles if the sides do not come to an agreement on tariffs on UK fish sold in EU.

Equality

Brexiters were hoping to get away from strict EU labor laws and have a low-tax economy like in Singapore, so the UK's "level playing field" commitment in the agreement that makes it follow the Union's rules on competition, state aid, employment standards and tax is unlikely to please them.

Paying for Brexit

The agreement calls for London to settle its financial obligations with the EU, which is currently estimated to be £39 billion (€44 billion).

Environment

The UK will remain committed to the bloc's environmental standards after leaving the EU and will honor international agreements, including the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and by default, will also exit the EU next year. As part of the Brexit agreement, London consented to cooperate with Madrid on citizens' rights, environment, police and customs matters when it comes to the disputed territory.

See also:

• God save our regime! Theresa May wins cabinet backing for Brexit deal, but at what cost?
• May strong-arms cabinet in emergency meeting, this is the deal - now back me on Brexit
• PM May calls in MPs as Brexit deal "agreed"...except a 'few outstanding issues'