Hurdles in the Brexit deal: It’s up to parliaments

The deal establishing the trade relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union will go into effect with terms on January 1. This is necessary because otherwise it would be necessary to act according to the basic rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This will lead to a lot of delays at borders due to customs controls.

To prevent this, the agreements in the deal already apply. But there has yet to be an official order on three sides.

Expected to be the first check mark today. The rest of the European Union member states have until 2 pm today to approve the agreement. This appears to be a signature issue, as EU ambassadors for member states already agreed in Brussels yesterday.

European Union only

The certification process is also much easier than other trade agreements, such as with Canada. Parliaments are usually allowed to have a say in this matter, but this is not the case with the Brexit trade deal.

The deal has been described as an “EU-only” agreement, in which the European Commission is the only party to it on behalf of the European Union. Member states are not, so national parliaments do not have to vote on them. This was a “political choice” due to time pressure Minister Block wrote to the House of Representatives this weekend.

Parliament infiltrated

As far as the Netherlands is concerned, it would have been a “mixed pact” “under normal circumstances.” This is the case if agreements are concluded in the convention that states may decide for themselves, such as cooperation in the field of aviation or police.

This meant that a parliamentary vote had yet to be held in all Member States. It won’t work, so the no-deal scenario will still be a reality.

British Parliament

Incidentally, this scenario could still be realized if the deal was not approved by the British Parliament. That will be voted on tomorrow, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson Is this a “formality”.

This confidence seems justified. And Kate Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labor Party, has already indicated that his own, too They will vote for the deal.

The final hurdle, in the European Parliament, will be less easy to overcome. In order to give parliamentarians sufficient time to browse the 1,246 pages of the deal, the agreement is conditionally enforceable Until February 28.

Parliament announced that parliamentarians do not think this period is long enough, they want to extend it and aim to vote in March. Announced yesterday.