[ad_1]
The Brexit deal signed in December has been put in jeopardy due to the recent breakdown of relations with the EU, warns an influential House of Lords committee.
The European Union committee says that “the threat of not reaching an agreement persists”, and the European Parliament is now refusing to set a date for its vote on the trade agreement sealed on Christmas Eve.
Its president, Lord Kinnoull, said there were “rumors” coming from the EU that it could delay ratification beyond the current target of April 30, risking a further escalation of the dispute over the agreement signed less than three months ago.
The peer warnings, in a report to be released on Monday, come just days after Brussels launched legal action against the UK, and European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič accused the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, of showing a “total misunderstanding” of the Brexit deal.
While the UK has left the EU, the trade deal is only operational due to an emergency procedure by the EU, and the European Parliament must ratify it by April 30 to make it permanently legally binding.
While no one expects the deal to break down, the peers, including former Chancellor Lord Lamont and former national security adviser Lord Ricketts, say the disputes over Northern Ireland “reflect and exacerbate a broader breach of trust between the government of the United States. UK and EU “.
“The European Union committee warned in December 2017 that it was difficult to foresee a worse outcome for the UK than a ‘no deal’ Brexit. We are therefore concerned that recent events have undermined confidence so much that the possibility of a ‘no deal’, in other words, the lack of ratification of the trade and cooperation agreement (ATT) has now resurfaced, ”the report says .
Beyond Brexit, the Institutional Framework is the final publication in the 45-year history of the Lords EU select committee, which is now closing, reflecting the fate of the House of Commons select committee on Brexit, which was eliminated at early this year.
Next week’s subcommittees will publish five reports on Brexit as a farewell. They will express concern about delays in establishing governance structures, including 24 specialized committees. The fact that they have yet to be established means that “at least 24 channels of discussion with the EU are not open” for building post-Brexit working relationships in Brussels, according to Kinnoull.
Regarding Northern Ireland, he said he was “optimistic” that the protocol could work, but was particularly concerned that the joint advisory working group (JCWG) on the protocol was not functioning 14 months after his mandate.
It was supposed to act as the “workhorse forum” for the protocol and if it had been implemented last year it could have avoided current disputes, he said.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove wrote to him recently to reveal that the JCWG had “met briefly for the first time” on January 29 “to adopt its bylaws.” But its co-chairs and members have yet to be confirmed.
Kinnoull has written to David Frost asking him 10 questions about the committee in an effort to increase the pressure.
The committee urges both the UK and the EU to reestablish their relationship. “It is incumbent on both parties to approach the new relationship constructively, in good faith, with the aim of rebuilding trust,” he says.
Kinnoull also urged the government to be more transparent about its decisions, saying it was “useless” not to give detailed reasoning behind recent unilateral decisions on Northern Ireland to match the lengthy EU letter outlining its reasons for actions. legal.
“If you are an average MEP and all you are reading is that the British government has taken unilateral action … you have nothing to assess whether the UK was right or wrong.”
The committee notes Gove’s recent analogy suggesting that Brexit was like the bumpy start to a plane trip that had not yet reached the “gin and tonic” stage, but says it is up to both parties to reestablish relations.
“Liberal democracies are precious and should work together, not separate,” he says.
A government spokesman said he expected the EU to complete the ratification process scheduled for late April “to provide certainty to businesses and individuals on both sides.”
On the dispute over Northern Ireland, they said that the measures taken were “temporary operational steps aimed at minimizing disruptions and protecting the daily lives of the people who live there,” adding that “the EU must take a more pragmatic approach.”
