[Brexit Negotiations]: Draft Text For Discussion: Implementation Period, February 2018

Author (Corporate)
Series Title
Series Details February 2018
Publication Date 21/02/2018
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Brexit Negotiations

+ 29 March 2017: The UK triggered Article 50, the process for the start of the negotiations for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.
+ 19 June 2017: 1st Round
+ 17-20 July 2017: 2nd Round
+ 28-31 August 2017: 3rd Round
+ 25-28 September 2017: 4th Round
+ 9-12 October 2017: 5th Round
+ 19-20 October 2017: European Council
+ 9-10 November 2017: 6th Round
+ 8 December 2017: Meeting between Jean-Claude Juncker and Theresa May. Joint report on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU
+ 15 December 2017: European Council (Art.50)
+ 29 January 2018: General Affairs Council (Art. 50)
+ 6-9 February 2018 EU-UK Article 50 Negotiations

During the first phase of negotiations (concluded in December 2017) there were three negotiating groups covering the key issues of:

+ citizens’ rights
+ financial settlement
+ other separation issues (such such as Euratom, EU external agreements and dispute resolution).

The issues related to Northern Ireland and the governance of the withdrawal agreement were addressed by the Coordinators.

Note that negotiations at the level of officials took place in addition to the formal milestone negotiations listed above.

Following the European Council held in Brussels on the 14-15 December 2017 the EU27 grouping (the EU Member States minus the United Kingdom) held a separate European Council (Art.50) on the 15 December 2017.

The EU27 reviewed the latest developments in the Brexit negotiations.

EU27 leaders agreed that sufficient progress has been achieved in the first phase of the Brexit negotiations.

On this basis, they adopted the draft guidelines to move to the second phase of negotiations where they would also start discussions on:

+ a transition period
+ the framework for the future relationship

The European Commission sent on the 20 December 2017 a Recommendation to the Council (Art 50) to begin discussions on the next phase of the orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

The Council of the European Union (EU27) adopted on the 29 January 2018 its negotiating directives relating to the second phase of Brexit talks.

On the 7 February 2018 the European Commission published a Position Paper called Transitional Arrangements in the Withdrawal Agreement. This translated into legal terms the principles laid down in the European Council Guidelines of 29 April 2017 and 15 December 2017 and in the supplementary negotiating directives annexed to the Council Decision of 29 January 2018.

The policy paper Draft Text For Discussion: Implementation Period published by the Department for Exiting the European Union on the 21 February 2018 was the UK's formal response to the European Commission's Position Paper.This document set out the United Kingdom’s approach to the legal text of the implementation period to be provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement.

It was published by the Department for Exiting the European Union on the 21 February 2018.

It was part of the Process of the EU-UK negotiations for the United Kingdom to leave the EU. It focused on the implementation period (the time of transition after March 2019).

The policy paper published by the Department for Exiting the European Union was the UK's formal response to the European Commission's Position Paper Transitional Arrangements in the Withdrawal Agreement, published earlier in February 2018.

The United Kingdom hoped to complete talks on the transition / implementation period ahead of the European Council, Brussels, 22-23 March 2018.

Source Link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-text-for-discussion-implementation-period
Related Links
UK: Parliament: House of Commons: Library: Research Briefing, No.8238 (23.02.18): Brexit: who has said what about transition? http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8238/CBP-8238.pdf
ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/
Politico, 21.02.18: UK seeks flexibility on Brexit transition end date https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-seeks-flexibility-on-brexit-transition-period-end-date-citizens-rights-march-29-2019/
EUObserver, 21.02.18: UK seeks flexible transition length after Brexit https://euobserver.com/uk-referendum/141063
Blog: EU law Analysis, 21.02.18: Annotation of the proposed Withdrawal Agreement, version 2: The Empire 2.0 Strikes Back? http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/annotation-of-proposed-withdrawal.html
BBC News, 21.02.18: UK's Brexit transition plans released http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43139703
EurActiv, 22.02.18: UK backtracks over Brexit transition period https://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/uk-backtracks-over-brexit-transition-period/

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