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A new bill presented by Ms Sturgeon’s constitution secretary hopes to allow Scottish ministers discretionary power to align laws with EU law. The United Kingdom’s European Union (Continuity) Withdrawal Bill (Scotland) means that Scotland can be kept in line with Europe’s “where appropriate and feasible”.
The bill proposes to allow the Scottish government to use regulations instead of legislation to “keep up” with the European Union in areas transferred after Brexit.
The discretionary powers will come into effect after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31 if the Scottish Parliament passes the legislation.
The bill also includes provisions to ensure that EU environmental principles and governance can continue in Scotland.
A new body called Environmental Standards Scotland will be created to ensure compliance with environmental legislation according to legislation.
Divisions have emerged over Scotland’s new Brexit bill (Image: Getty)
It comes after the latest round of Brexit talks came to an end (Image: Getty)
The bill has now been vetted by the multi-party Labor Party MSPs Lib Dem and Tory in the Holyrood Finance and Constitution Committee, who emphasized that the Scottish government should be clearer on how they would exercise such power, but backed the reasoning. initial account.
But Brussels has cast doubt on legislation emphasizing that Scotland would have to reapply if it wanted to join the EU “like everyone else.”
An EU official said Express.co.uk: “This legislation has been noted but could create a difficult position for Scotland and would not be effective.
“Many regulations and rules approved by the EU will be difficult to implement in Scotland today and will not apply to them.”
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Murdo Fraser had significant concerns about the bill (Image: Getty)
The bill also angered Whitehall officials who last night accused Scotland of “putting up trade barriers” with the rest of the UK.
A UK government spokesperson also told this website: “The decentralized administration approach would separate Scotland from the rest of the UK, lifting trade barriers and creating more division.”
They warned that Edinburgh would have a big task on its hands when evaluating the EU’s annual legislative results.
SNP MSP Bruce Crawford, Chairperson of the Holyrood Constitution and Finance Committee, said: “Our Committee supports the power of keeping up in principle, but is of the view that it would not be appropriate or feasible for it to be absolute and inflexible.
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Legalization aims to keep pace with the EU after Brexit (Image: Getty)
“Our committee does not accept that the use of this power should be entirely at the discretion of the Scottish government and believes that there should be much greater clarity on how the government proposes to use power.
“We recommend that the bill be amended to require the Scottish government to provide guidance setting out the criteria to be applied to the use of energy.
“The guidance should also clearly state how the power to keep up interacts with other sources of regulation that will affect individuals and businesses in Scotland.
“This should include the impact of trade agreements, common frameworks and the functioning of the UK internal market.”
An independent Scotland could rejoin the EU (Image: Getty)
The Tory MSP Murdo Fraser, part of the Holyrood Constitution and Finance Committee, also introduced an amendment to the final report that said the ability of ministers to legislate through the use of regulations “was not appropriate.”
Mr Fraser urged the Committee to say: “The Committee accepts that there may be room for a bill authorizing Scottish ministers to make minor or technical changes to EU law, but the powers in this bill they go much further.
“The Committee believes that it is inappropriate for Scottish ministers to have the power to introduce new laws that enact significant policy changes through secondary legislation.”
But the motion was rejected by three votes to eight, and only Fraser’s Tories, Dean Lockhart and Alexander Burnett, voted in favor.
Scottish Secretary to the Constitution, Michael Russell (Image: Getty)
The High Court struck down an earlier version of the bill in 2018 after justices ruled that it included powers that were outside the power of the Scottish Parliament.
Scottish Secretary of the Constitution Michael Russell, who introduced the bill to the Scottish Parliament earlier this year, said: “It is completely unacceptable that Scotland has been taken out of the EU, but this bill will allow us, at less in decentralized areas, ‘keep up’ with Europe, where appropriate and feasible to do so.
“It is a requirement as a direct result of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and is more urgent due to the reckless refusal of the UK government to request an extension of the Brexit transition period.”
Bruce Crawford, Chairperson of the Constitution and Finance Committee of the Scottish Parliament (Image: Getty)
A Scottish Government spokesperson added: “We will carefully consider the Committee’s recommendations and welcome their support for the principle of the bill proposals so that Scotland can keep pace with EU legislation where appropriate and feasible.”
“These are designed to ensure certainty, stability and predictability for people in Scotland and those doing business here and in Europe, and to ensure that Scotland’s environmental standards can keep pace with those of the EU.”
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