Britain to press ahead with Brexit treaty-breaking laws next week

By William James

 

FILE PHOTO: Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, speaks to the media after a European general affairs ministers council, in Brussels, Belgium September 22, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Legislation that breaks Britain's Brexit withdrawal treaty will be debated in parliament next week, House of Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said on Thursday, a move which could further undermine talks on a trade deal with the European Union.

 

Britain's upper house of parliament voted last month to remove clauses in the Internal Market Bill which broke international law, but the government intends to reinstate them in the lower chamber on Monday.

 

It is also introducing a new piece of legislation next week, the Taxation (Post Transition Period) Bill, which is widely expected to contain more provisions that overrule parts of the EU exit deal relating to Northern Ireland.

 

The Internal Market Bill - designed to protect trade between the four nations of the United Kingdom - prompted fury in the EU when it was first introduced because it unpicked the terms of a divorce agreement both sides signed in January.

 

Brussels has launched legal action against Britain and Ireland has warned that breaking the treaty could destroy the trust needed to reach a trade deal.

 

A deal on trade with the EU could remove the need for the law-breaking clauses in the legislation and make the whole row go away, but negotiations are into their final days with little visible progress towards bridging large gaps in their positions.

 

The government says it needs a safety net to prevent the EU interpreting the complex customs agreements between Ireland and Northern Ireland in a way that limits internal trade.

 

The EU wants to make sure the open border with Ireland doesn't act as a back door into the bloc for goods. London wants to make sure goods flow freely between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-03

 

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this will end with a whimper and tears.

9 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

this will end with a whimper and tears.

The whole thing is a storm in a thimble. the beatching is over one or two sentences in the bill that may or may b=never come to fruition.  Driven by <deleted> and the EU. Quelle suprise.

Before the denials and denunciation of the article begin, I thought I would post this from The Telegraph:

Government admits changes to Brexit deal break international law (telegraph.co.uk)

 

 

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

A deal on trade with the EU could remove the need for the law-breaking clauses in the legislation and make the whole row go away,

Is it possible that Johnson and his cabinet are using this bill as some sort of bluff in the hope that the EU will cave into all the UK's demands at the last minute and grant us the 'all the benefits with none of the responsibilities' deal which back ion 2016 Vote.Leave said would be a doddle?

 

I really hope for the sake of my country that he is not being that stupid.

 

Surely Johnson and his advisors must have realised by now that the EU are in the stronger position because while they want a trade deal; we need one!

 

Even though Rees-Mogg and the ERG probably haven't.

A good political move. Never back down to bullies,  in this case the EU.

 

Also, the anti democratic house of lords should never try to stop the elected MPs in the house of commons.

 

Hopefully this move gets Barnier calling a taxi to the airport. But they're so desperate that I doubt it. He'll still be lingering like a stale fart.

2 hours ago, Psimbo said:

The whole thing is a storm in a thimble. the beatching is over one or two sentences in the bill that may or may b=never come to fruition.  Driven by <deleted> and the EU. Quelle suprise.

Exactly. This internal market bill is the equivalent of a boxer wearing a groin protector because he suspects the opponent plans to punch him in the balls.

 

The fact the EU is so upset that we saw it coming tells you everything you need to know about their spiteful intentions to break up the UK.

 

The gloves are off. Time to ditch the WA in its entirety. While we're at it stop referring to them as friends and partners. They are anything but.

20 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

A good political move. Never back down to bullies,  in this case the EU.

 

Also, the anti democratic house of lords should never try to stop the elected MPs in the house of commons.

 

Hopefully this move gets Barnier calling a taxi to the airport. But they're so desperate that I doubt it. He'll still be lingering like a stale fart.

Sure. When you break your word it's always convincing to say they made you do it. So it's not really breaking your word because it's not your fault. That doesn't seem weak in the least.

Seems they want their pound of flesh before letting them out. 

10 hours ago, placeholder said:

Sure. When you break your word it's always convincing to say they made you do it. So it's not really breaking your word because it's not your fault. That doesn't seem weak in the least.

 

Its never the Brexiteers fault. 

Perpetual victims the poor dears. 

4 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

 

Its never the Brexiteers fault. 

Perpetual victims the poor dears. 

we are out aren't we, I call that a win. 

1 minute ago, Pilotman said:

we are out aren't we, I call that a win. 

 

And spend all your time crying its someone elses fault when more bad news about Breixt is announced. 

4 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

 

And spend all your time crying its someone elses fault when more bad news about Breixt is announced. 

not me, I'm laughing  at the shenanigans and at the universality of the idiocy and incompetence of all politicos and their mindless Civil Servant drones. Great entertainment.  

What a sad end to what many claim to have been a great nation.....a small island nation of dwindling importance, now known for breaking laws and commitments to its partners, racist in nature and led by rightwing, unprincipled, selfish morons.

 

Very sad.

18 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

 

And spend all your time crying its someone elses fault when more bad news about Breixt is announced. 

Bad news? I didn't see any bad news. 

 

We won in 2016 and it looks like we'll be getting the hardest of Brexits. Where's the bad news?

1 hour ago, Venom said:

Seems they want their pound of flesh before letting them out. 

No one has to let anyone out. The UK could have disdolved all ties long since.

47 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

we are out aren't we, I call that a win. 

 

"To win without a risk, is a triumph without glory"

- Corneille -

 

Every country, member of the E.U., can trigger Article 50.

23 minutes ago, placeholder said:

No one has to let anyone out. The UK could have disdolved all ties long since.

 

12 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Exactly. This internal market bill is the equivalent of a boxer wearing a groin protector because he suspects the opponent plans to punch him in the balls.

 

The fact the EU is so upset that we saw it coming tells you everything you need to know about their spiteful intentions to break up the UK.

 

The gloves are off. Time to ditch the WA in its entirety. While we're at it stop referring to them as friends and partners. They are anything but.

I have heard rubbish in my time but this is so bad it could not have been written by a Russian troll. A small bit of knowledge would indicate that no EU member state would want the UK to break up. For some EU states with significant minorities, such as the Catalans in Spain, a Scotland separating from the UK would provide precedence and the Spanish definitely do not want that.

 

Perhaps you should read a little bit more.

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

we are out aren't we, I call that a win. 

Indeed. Brexit won. But if you read the UK press and hear what Brexiteers have to say, including on this forum, you would swear they had lost. All you hear about is the "spitful EU" and how dreadful the EU is blah blah. Well, the UK is out, gone. So there. You cannot continue to blame the EU for all your troubles now. They are yours. Brexiteers, please own your stuff and stop annoying us.

Deal or no deal, Britain will learn what Brexit really means........impotence.

 

Next week the country will have to choose between humiliation over fish or catastrophe as the EU states walking away from a deal.

 

Simon Jenkins.

3 hours ago, Surelynot said:

What a sad end to what many claim to have been a great nation.....a small island nation of dwindling importance, now known for breaking laws and commitments to its partners, racist in nature and led by rightwing, unprincipled, selfish morons.

 

Very sad.

John'son and Trump are very similar. Let's make America great again, let's make the UK great again. Trump has failed and Johnson will fail too. And England will become a small island of dwindling importance. Scotland will be independent and eventually Northern Ireland will unite with the south. After all both these countries voted to stay in the EU. UK passport will be useless since I will no longer be able to travel and live and work where I want. Fortunately I have a second passport so I can ditch my UK one.  in the end people will equate  Trump supporters with Brexit supporter and wonder why they could have possibly voted as they did.

3 hours ago, Proboscis said:

I have heard rubbish in my time but this is so bad it could not have been written by a Russian troll. A small bit of knowledge would indicate that no EU member state would want the UK to break up. For some EU states with significant minorities, such as the Catalans in Spain, a Scotland separating from the UK would provide precedence and the Spanish definitely do not want that.

 

Perhaps you should read a little bit more.

 

Are you aware of the difference between the EU and the individual member states? Even if you were correct about no member state wanting the break up of the UK (I wouldn't agree) that has no bearing on what the EU wants, they are not the same thing.

 

FWIW I wasn't referring to Scotland. Nobody cares about Scotland. The EU has clearly been trying to break NI off from the UK as the price of Brexit. That is what we object to.

 

Perhaps it is you who should do some reading. And I'm not referring to The Guardian.

The EU appears unable to reform and improve. Individual members break EU regulations all the time, especially the French. Well beyond time for the UK to get out. If that means reneging on some aspects of what has been previously agreed, so be it. 

 

5 hours ago, Pilotman said:

we are out aren't we, I call that a win. 

wait until the full ramifications become apparent, it isn't a win, don't fool yourself, unemployment is already climbing and not just because of covid. The UK is nowhere near ready for a no deal because they never intended to just walk away. Keep in mind Obama, and therefore probably Biden as well, was no friend of Brexit so you can forget any special deal from the USA.

1 minute ago, soalbundy said:

wait until the full ramifications become apparent, it isn't a win, don't fool yourself, unemployment is already climbing and not just because of covid. The UK is nowhere near ready for a no deal because they never intended to just walk away. Keep in mind Obama, and therefore probably Biden as well, was no friend of Brexit so you can forget any special deal from the USA.

Do you know, I just don't care anymore.  I don't live in the UK, I never will again, the country is a basket case, filled with miserable anti social people, moaning and groaning their way through life, run by a set of self serving and not very bright politicians, aided by third rate Civil Servants,  so I don't really  give a monkeys what happens to the place.  

19 hours ago, JonnyF said:

A good political move. Never back down to bullies,  in this case the EU.

The EU treating us the same as any other non member which wants a FTA with them is not bullying. We cannot leave the club but still receive all the benefits of membership.

 

19 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Also, the anti democratic house of lords should never try to stop the elected MPs in the house of commons.

It's the way our Parliament works. I thought you Brexiteers were in favour of us having our own way of doing things.

 

19 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Hopefully this move gets Barnier calling a taxi to the airport. But they're so desperate that I doubt it. He'll still be lingering like a stale fart.

Of course the EU want a deal; but we need it. Johnson could have stuck to his promises and walked away with no deal at anytime; but he hasn't.

 

Then we all know what Boris' word is worth; nothing.

 

 

 

 

19 hours ago, JonnyF said:

This internal market bill is the equivalent of a boxer wearing a groin protector because he suspects the opponent plans to punch him in the balls.

 

More like a boxer slipping a horseshoe into his glove because he knows his opponent is bigger and tougher than him.

 

19 hours ago, JonnyF said:

The fact the EU is so upset that we saw it coming tells you everything you need to know about their spiteful intentions to break up the UK.

 

The gloves are off. Time to ditch the WA in its entirety. While we're at it stop referring to them as friends and partners. They are anything but.

 

What spiteful intentions to break up the UK?

 

Of course the EU are upset. Johnson brought back the Irish Protocol and it's de facto customs border between GB and NI after May when she was Prime Minister dismissed it as something no UK Prime Minister could ever consider . Having proclaimed it as his triumph; having told us UK voters that it "would get Brexit done" and won a landslide GE on that basis; having signed the WA containing it and having got it through Parliament in record time: he now wants to cancel it!

 

It now appears that he was warned of the possible ill effects of his WA before he signed it: Johnson was given warnings on effect of Irish protocol. So why did he sign it?

 

Brexiteers have said that he had no intention of keeping to the WA and he only signed it so he could "get Brexit done" by 31/1/20.

 

In which case he lied to the EU. More importantly he lied to the us, the UK electorate, and lied to our Parliament.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Are you aware of the difference between the EU and the individual member states? Even if you were correct about no member state wanting the break up of the UK (I wouldn't agree) that has no bearing on what the EU wants, they are not the same thing.

Considering the number of posts here about the EU taking sovereignty away from the member states and Brexit giving us ours back; it is obvious that many Brexiteers are definitely not aware of that difference!

 

3 hours ago, JonnyF said:

FWIW I wasn't referring to Scotland. Nobody cares about Scotland.

Apart from the Scots, tell that to the numerous TVF Brexiteers who, despite their oft claimed love of democracy, regularly post that the Scots must not be granted the choice of whether to remain in the UK or not.

 

3 hours ago, JonnyF said:

The EU has clearly been trying to break NI off from the UK as the price of Brexit. That is what we object to.

Your evidence of this being?

 

May's backstop would have allowed Brexit to go ahead whilst a long term solution to the Irish border customs problem was found. It was Johnson's protocol which effectively placed a customs border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

 

3 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Perhaps it is you who should do some reading. And I'm not referring to The Guardian.

 

It is you who should broaden your reading; because, as most of your posts show, your knowledge of this subject is extremely limited.

 

 

20 hours ago, JonnyF said:

A good political move. Never back down to bullies,  in this case the EU.

 

Also, the anti democratic house of lords should never try to stop the elected MPs in the house of commons.

 

Hopefully this move gets Barnier calling a taxi to the airport. But they're so desperate that I doubt it. He'll still be lingering like a stale fart.

So the EU is to blame when the UK wants to break a contract which they singed not so long ago. Yeah sure - or maybe not.