<EDIT 14 not 16 so 222 more to do </edit>
Yes only 220 more to do, but no worries we still have 151 days left
Subscribe to read | Financial Times
Yes only 220 more to do, but no worries we still have 151 days left
Subscribe to read | Financial Times
The UK has managed to “roll over”only 14 of the 236 international treaties that the EU has signed with countries around the world, raising fresh concern of disruption if Britain crashes out the bloc without a deal.
With just five months to go to Brexit, the UK is under mounting pressure to replicate agreements that the EU has with 168 countries, so that Britain can retain rights that it currently has with these nations as a result of being a member of the bloc.
Last week, Whitehall officials were given data showing that only a fraction of the 236 treaties that the EU has with countries outside the bloc have been successfully copied by the UK into new mini-arrangements with the relevant nations.
Britain needs to roll over about 40 free trade agreements that the EU has with countries including Canada, Japan, South Korea and Mexico.
The 236 treaties also cover important agreements well beyond trade — relating to airlines’ take-off and landing rights at overseas airports, as well as industries such as financial services, fisheries and nuclear.
If the UK finalises a withdrawal deal with the EU, including a transition period beyond March 2019, it should give Britain more time to roll over the treaties.
However, the issue of what would happen if no deal is reached was discussed by heads of Whitehall departments on Wednesday last week.
According to people briefed on the meeting, the discussion on international treaties was “sobering” as permanent secretaries confronted the reality that many efforts to replicate the treaties were still incomplete.
The lack of progress in rolling over all 236 treaties is the latest indication of how the government is struggling with its no-deal planning. Downing Street said: “We are working closely with partners to replace the agreements in the event of no deal.”
Last week, the National Audit Office, parliament’s spending watchdog, reported that 10 out of 12 projects required to guarantee a fully functioning UK border in the event of a no-deal Brexit were at risk of not being delivered on time.
Chris Grayling, transport secretary, told the cabinet last week that Britain could be obliged to charter ships to guarantee the supply of food and medicines should the country crash out of the EU without a deal.
The meeting involving heads of Whitehall departments also highlighted tensions between UK officials who are negotiating Brexit in Brussels and their counterparts in London who are supposed to be making contingency plans in case the talks with the EU on the withdrawal agreement end in failure.
“There’s a sense of frustration from the officials out in Brussels that they are getting all of the political heat, while their colleagues back in London are dragging their feet,” said one person briefed on the meeting.
Britain’s difficulties in getting the 236 treaties rolled over are likely to arise for a number of reasons, according to one legal expert.
“Other countries may see Brexit as an opportunity to reopen these [treaties], to get more out of the UK, rather than just roll over the existing agreements,” said this person.
“They may have their own time-consuming domestic ratification processes. Agreement on how these treaties apply to the UK may also depend on what the UK’s future relationship with the EU looks like.”
With just five months to go to Brexit, the UK is under mounting pressure to replicate agreements that the EU has with 168 countries, so that Britain can retain rights that it currently has with these nations as a result of being a member of the bloc.
Last week, Whitehall officials were given data showing that only a fraction of the 236 treaties that the EU has with countries outside the bloc have been successfully copied by the UK into new mini-arrangements with the relevant nations.
Britain needs to roll over about 40 free trade agreements that the EU has with countries including Canada, Japan, South Korea and Mexico.
The 236 treaties also cover important agreements well beyond trade — relating to airlines’ take-off and landing rights at overseas airports, as well as industries such as financial services, fisheries and nuclear.
If the UK finalises a withdrawal deal with the EU, including a transition period beyond March 2019, it should give Britain more time to roll over the treaties.
However, the issue of what would happen if no deal is reached was discussed by heads of Whitehall departments on Wednesday last week.
According to people briefed on the meeting, the discussion on international treaties was “sobering” as permanent secretaries confronted the reality that many efforts to replicate the treaties were still incomplete.
The lack of progress in rolling over all 236 treaties is the latest indication of how the government is struggling with its no-deal planning. Downing Street said: “We are working closely with partners to replace the agreements in the event of no deal.”
Last week, the National Audit Office, parliament’s spending watchdog, reported that 10 out of 12 projects required to guarantee a fully functioning UK border in the event of a no-deal Brexit were at risk of not being delivered on time.
Chris Grayling, transport secretary, told the cabinet last week that Britain could be obliged to charter ships to guarantee the supply of food and medicines should the country crash out of the EU without a deal.
The meeting involving heads of Whitehall departments also highlighted tensions between UK officials who are negotiating Brexit in Brussels and their counterparts in London who are supposed to be making contingency plans in case the talks with the EU on the withdrawal agreement end in failure.
“There’s a sense of frustration from the officials out in Brussels that they are getting all of the political heat, while their colleagues back in London are dragging their feet,” said one person briefed on the meeting.
Britain’s difficulties in getting the 236 treaties rolled over are likely to arise for a number of reasons, according to one legal expert.
“Other countries may see Brexit as an opportunity to reopen these [treaties], to get more out of the UK, rather than just roll over the existing agreements,” said this person.
“They may have their own time-consuming domestic ratification processes. Agreement on how these treaties apply to the UK may also depend on what the UK’s future relationship with the EU looks like.”
Comment