Re: Yesterdays news
Charlie Clark,
I'm not sure on the legislative timing. Quite a lot of this is being agreed at Council of Ministers level, with ratification by the European Parliament. So not all of it needs to be legislated for at national level. In fact probably not that much of it.
A trade agreement after we leave is in the Commission's competence and pure trade deals can be done without ratification by the member states' Parliaments. The Canada deal was unusual, in being a hybrid deal, and so did. But that part of Brexit isn't being negotiated now, we're only working on the exit agreement - plus some sort of political protocol on what the future trade relationship will be (in outline terms only). That will almost certainly have to do the rounds at national level, as the Canada deal did.
As for Northern Ireland, an open border is indeed a requirement of the GFA. However I'm pretty sure it's also a breach of the GFA to create a new border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK - which is what the EU is currently insisting upon. That is unacceptable.
May had already proposed a couple of schemes to get round this, which the EU rejected (while refusing to propose a workable alternative) - and I think the Chequers plan was her idea of a compromise that kept the whole UK in the same situation as NI. If the EU reject that, then nothing short of remaining is acceptable - and I'm not sure that can get through Parliament any easier than hard Brexit would. Which leave us defaulting to Brexit with no agreement and a hard border in Ireland anyway. We won't impose one, but I bet the EU would then ignore the GFA and insist that Ireland did.
I'm beginning to feel that the Commission have not been negotiating in good faith.
For example Barnier has been showing a presentation to EU governments on May's Chequers proposal that objects to it because it might be too good for the UK. Not that it's bad for the EU or fails to comply with their red lines, but that it might not be punishing enough.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
