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reThe UK House of Commons passed the Single Market Act, which has been severely criticized by the EU. MPs voted to restore various clauses that could invalidate parts of the EU Withdrawal Treaty. A few hours before Parliament’s decision, the British government had announced a revision of the internal market law.
The government announced in London that afternoon that there had been “constructive” talks between British Secretary of State Michael Gove and EU Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic on the implementation of the existing exit agreement. If there is a final agreement in the coming days on the solutions discussed in these discussions, London will remove the controversial clauses from the Single Market Act.
Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Paul Scully said in the House of Commons that the government was confident of reaching an agreement with Brussels. Until then, the clauses should be kept “in their current form” as an alternative solution.
In the EU internal market until the end of the year
The House of Commons passed the Internal Market Law in late September. In November, however, the House of Lords rejected several key passages through which regulations on Northern Ireland will be undermined in the Brexit deal. After Monday’s vote, the bill will go back to the House of Lords before the House of Commons finally votes on it.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to use the law to circumvent customs regulations on trade in goods for the British province of Northern Ireland and state aid requirements for British companies. His government frankly admitted that the unilateral amendment to the Brexit treaty violated international law. The EU Commission launched an infringement procedure against Great Britain due to the law in early October.
Britain left the EU on February 1. However, it will remain in the EU internal market and in the customs union until the end of the year. Actually, both parties wanted to use this time to reach a trade agreement. However, the negotiations have stalled. Johnson now plans to personally travel to Brussels in the next few days to make a breakthrough.
