16. Negotiating a ‘future relationship’: EU external relations law

2020 ◽  
pp. 450-478
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Internal Market ◽  
External Relations ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the ‘future relationship’ agreement(s) that will apply between the UK and the EU. Following the adoption of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will be looking to conclude what the EU terms a ‘future relationship’ agreement with the EU over the course of the transition period. That ‘future relationship’ will address both the conditions under which the UK trades with the EU in the future — or what replaces the internal market — and how the UK and the EU relate to each other diplomatically — or what replaces ‘membership’ of the EU as an institution. The EU Treaties set out clear processes for the conclusion of international agreements between the EU and other countries. The chapter explores what those processes are, considering what powers the EU has to conclude international agreements. It also looks at how decision-making relating to those international agreements takes place within the EU institutions.

scholarly journals Extradition Between the UK and Ireland After Brexit—Understanding the Past and Present to Prepare for the Future

2020 ◽  
pp. 002201832097753
Author(s):  
Gemma Davies ◽  
Paul Arnell
Keyword(s):  
Transition Period ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Good Friday ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Good Friday Agreement ◽  
The Future ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom have a long, close and difficult history. The most recent phase of which dates from 1998 and the conclusion of the Good Friday Agreement. Since 1921, however, there has been unique practice between Ireland and the UK as regards the transfer of accused and convicted persons from one to the other. Indeed, there has been a special and close relationship between the two in that regard; albeit one not without difficulties. In recent times EU Justice and Home Affairs measures and the Good Friday Agreement have supplemented and strengthened the relationship. These include, since January 2004, the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). The EAW has been particularly important in streamlining the extradition process between the Ireland and the UK. This phase of history and co-operation is coming to an end. The UK’s membership of the EU has now ceased, and a transition period during which the UK remains part of the EAW will end on 31st December 2020. The extradition relationship between the two is therefore facing a considerable challenge. There are several options open to Ireland, the UK and the EU as a replacement. Time, political will and the interests of third states, however, may well stand in the way of the conclusion of an agreement that optimally serves the interests of all parties and criminal justice. This paper considers the origins of extradition between the UK and Ireland and the alternative methods of extradition open to the UK and Ireland after Brexit. Consideration is given to the likely operation of a Norway-Iceland style agreement and whether such an agreement will be in place by the end of the transition and, if it was, whether its terms are likely to be sufficient for the needs of Ireland and the UK. The possibility of a bilateral arrangement on extradition between Ireland and the UK is also explored. Underlying the discussion is the critical point that the future extradition relationship must retain its ‘special’ characteristics, and therefore maintain the trust and good will that has developed over the years and given rise to an effective extradition relationship between the two countries. In other words, the lessons of history must be remembered.

4. EU legislative powers

2020 ◽  
pp. 88-122
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars
Keyword(s):  
Transition Period ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Principle Of Proportionality ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Legislative Processes ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the sources of EU law. As with domestic law, there are two overarching categories of EU law: primary law and secondary law. EU primary law includes the EU Treaties and the general principles of EU law. Meanwhile, EU secondary law includes regulations, directives, decisions, international agreements, and ‘soft law’. The chapter then looks at the legislative processes that are used to adopt secondary legislation, and assesses when, or in what policy areas, the EU can make law. It also considers two mechanisms that aim to prevent the EU from extending its legislative power beyond what the Treaties have granted it: the principle of subsidiarity and the principle of proportionality. Finally, the chapter addresses the impact of Brexit on EU law, assessing what will happen to EU law in the UK during the Withdrawal Agreement's transition period.

3. Decision-making and democracy in the EU

2020 ◽  
pp. 61-87
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Democratic Government ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Big Events ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter analyses what EU academics have termed the ‘democratic deficit’ in the EU. In EU law, the concept of the ‘democratic deficit’ is used to classify the EU as a system that may hold some of the qualities of a democratic government, but is lacking others. The chapter then investigates just how much ‘democracy’ exists in the EU decision-making processes. There are those who claim that the EU will never be democratic, and those who argue that the EU actually does not suffer from true shortcomings. The chapter evaluates both of those claims, and considers if recent big events in the EU — such as the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, and the so-called Eurozone financial crisis — impact upon the debate. It also looks at the nature of Brexit during the Withdrawal Agreement's transition period, as well as the future relationship between the UK and the EU.

scholarly journals The future of environmental governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-225
Author(s):  
Colin T. Reid
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Governance ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
The Future ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
The Eu

During the UK’s membership of the EU, the EU structures have provided a degree of external oversight, ensuring that environmental obligations are fulfilled. To fill the gaps left by the removal of these structures, the different parts of the UK are currently developing their own proposals for environmental principles and governance, which are briefly outlined. The different national schemes adopt different approaches and have to fit into different legal and policy backgrounds. Although collaboration is desirable it seems unlikely to be achieved, if only because of the different timescales for turning proposals into action. Progress with the different national schemes may be disrupted by the need to meet any commitments made by the UK government in international agreements. These agreements may include environmental provisions, and the “Backstop” to the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU contains substantial commitments on environmental governance. Some firm suggestions are made for enhancing future collaboration.

Vertical Agreements

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-78
Author(s):  
Alison Jones
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Internal Market ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Eu Competition Law ◽  
Resale Price ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Price Maintenance ◽  
The Eu

Alison Jones looks at vertical agreements in Chapter 3. This chapter charts the development of UK competition law and policy towards vertical agreements over the 20 years since the Competition Act 1998 came into force. It traces how UK policy has evolved, before examining the UK jurisprudence that assesses the compatibility of vertical agreements with competition law. It notes that although many UK cases initially focused on resale price maintenance, more recently a number have analysed vertical restraints affecting online selling, which have proliferated since 2000 with the rapid growth of e-commerce. The chapter also considers how the law could, or should, develop in the future, especially now the transition period following the UK’s departure from the EU has ended. An important issue considered is whether, post-Brexit, the UK authorities should continue to follow EU competition law in this sphere, which has in significant respects been influenced by internal market considerations, or whether it should take a different course.

The Negotiations on the Future Trade Relations

2020 ◽  
pp. 211-232
Author(s):  
Paola Mariani ◽  
Giorgio Sacerdoti
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the negotiations on the future relations between the UK and the EU. The UK left the EU on the basis of a Withdrawal Agreement, which includes an obligation to negotiate in good faith the future relationship between the parties. The framework for future cooperation is outlined in a non-binding Political Declaration attached to the Withdrawal Agreement. This foresees the conclusion after the end of the transition period of a free trade agreement. However, the parties’ respective negotiating directives and guidelines, made public in February of 2020, show a remarkable gap in objectives and features of the future agreement, to the point that a failure of the negotiations and a no-deal Brexit is still a possibility. The chapter then considers the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement impacting the future EU–UK relations, namely Article 184 and the Protocol on Northern Ireland that already foresees rules applying between the parties post-transition, with respect to Northern Ireland. It also reflects on the challenges the UK faces in negotiating trade agreements with the EU while also doing so with the rest of the world.

The Transition

2020 ◽  
pp. 171-190
Author(s):  
Kenneth A Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Member State ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Internal Market ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Customs Union ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter studies an innovative governance devise invented by the Brexit negotiators: transition — a stand-still period which will allow the UK to remain pro tempore part of the EU internal market and customs union despite being no longer a member state. On February 1, 2020, and ten months later than scheduled, the EU and the UK entered into a period of ‘transition’; a time between formal membership of the EU and the beginning of a new relationship. At one level, there is a certain taken-for-granted simplicity to the idea of managing not just an orderly exit of the UK from the EU but also the provision of continuity and certainty while the parties negotiate and decide their future relationship. But at another level, the formal terminology and indeed the metaphors used to describe this interim legal framework disclose some deeper tensions around the sequencing and organisation of the withdrawal process as well as the direction of travel of the parties. Transition was originally conceived as a bridge toward the future EU–UK relations, but the risks remain that it may turn into a bridge to nowhere — particularly if the period is not extended beyond December 31, 2020, given time-constraints for such new difficult negotiations.

scholarly journals The UK and EU Foreign, Security and Defence Policy after Brexit: Integrated, Associated or Detached?

2016 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
pp. R43-R50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Whitman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Trade Policy ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Defence Policy ◽  
The Future ◽  
Foreign And Security Policy ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

None of the existing models for the future trade policy relationship between the UK and the EU come with a predetermined foreign and security policy relationship. This article assesses how the future EU-UK foreign and security policy relationship might be organised post-Brexit. It provides evaluation of the current EU-UK interrelationship in the fields of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and assesses the degree to which the UK is presently integrated into EU decision-making and implementation. It highlights that the UK needs to determine the degree to which it wants autonomy or even divergence from existing EU policies. The article concludes by rehearsing the costs and benefits of three possible future relationships between the UK and EU foreign, security and defence policy: integrated, associated or detached.

scholarly journals The Agreement on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU and Euratom and its impact on the future application of state aid rules in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-512
Author(s):  
Phedon Nicolaides
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
State Aid ◽  
Future Application ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

The Agreement on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU provides that EU state aid rules will apply to the UK until the end of the transition period and to the trade of Northern Ireland at least until 31 December 2024 and from that date for as long as the agreed arrangements receive ‘democratic consent’. This article considers whether the Agreement may incentivize the UK to apply EU state aid rules in the rest of the UK. It concludes that the UK is likely to align itself to the EU’s regime.

23. EU external action

2020 ◽  
pp. 731-791
Author(s):  
Geert De Baere
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Composite System ◽  
External Action ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
External Representation ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Member States ◽  
External Relations ◽  
Policy Fields ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the EU law on external relations. It explores the complex division of competences between the Member States and the Union, and between the different institutions of the Union in the field of external action; the applicable decision-making procedures, including the procedure for concluding international agreements; the Union’s composite system of external representation; and how the Union manages the vertical (between the Union and the Member States) and horizontal (between the different Institutions and policy fields of the EU) division of its external competences.

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