Brexit talks have been thrown into jeopardy after revelations that the UK government is to table legislation that will unpick some of the withdrawal agreement that Boris Johnson signed with the EU in January. It is one of the most startling turns in the four-year Brexit saga. Opinion is divided as to whether this is sabre-rattling that will force the EU into a trade deal, or whether it will ultimately torpedo the talks. What is this legislation? The internal market bill is due to be published on Wednesday and will include elements that are expected to “eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement”. The government is seeking to override the Northern Ireland protocol that requires checks on goods, animals and food crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain into Ireland and rules on state aid for British firms. It is effectively giving the UK unilateral powers at ministerial level to decide what goods will go through the full panoply of checks and tariffs and which goods will not. In July a white paper was published on the internal market, which is designed to ensure trading rules are the same in all four nations of the UK. The internal market legislation has already proved unpopular with the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland because of proposals for bodies that will ensure trading standards are uniform across the four nations. What is the government saying? Details are not known yet but government sources have confirmed the Financial Times report describing it as a “sensible fallback” in case the ongoing Brexit trade talks collapse and the UK leaves the single market and the customs union without a deal when the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December. The environment secretary, George Eustice, said the government was “committed” to the withdrawal agreement, and the Northern Ireland deal had always included “loose ends” that needed to be tidied up, including “the type of administrative customs processes” that will be implemented on goods crossing the Irish Sea. What is the reaction in Ireland? The plans have astonished the Irish government. Simon Coveney, the foreign affairs minister, who was central to the negotiations that led to the withdrawal agreement, has said it was a “very unwise” move. Neale Richmond, an MP from the same party, who also takes a keen interest in Brexit, described the reports as “extremely worrying”. Richmond said: “The withdrawal agreement is an international treaty with obligations to international law. It cannot simply be overridden with domestic legislation. No doubt our negotiator, Michel Barnier, will approach this in a calm and patient manner as ever, but one must wonder: if the British government seriously intend to proceed along this path in order to sate domestic difficulty then why would anyone sign any treaty with them in the future?” Can the UK break the withdrawal agreement? The withdrawal agreement is an international treaty and legally binding. This is why the Irish, with the full backing of the EU, were so keen to get the arrangements for the Irish border nailed down in the withdrawal agreement. They knew the UK could not subsequently wriggle out of the deal without risking its international reputation as a trustworthy nation that stands by its legal commitments. Practically, however, the government can do what it likes as it has an 80-strong majority. A UK official acknowledged the move would cause some “debate” with the EU. Others have said the move could be seen to be a draconian manoeuvre aimed at opting out of the full commitments on Northern Ireland. Is the timing significant? The revelations emerged on the eve of the resumption of talks on trade and the UK’s future relationship with the EU. The eighth round of negotiations are to start on Tuesday and the outlook is bleak. Downing Street is saying the legislation had to be tabled in order to get it on to the statue books by 1 January. Others say the government knew how sensitive the Northern Ireland protocol was and deliberately chose it to force the EU to compromise on other elements in the talks. What is the mood? Nobody expects progress in the talks this week. Multiple sources say a leader-level political summit is now the only way to break the impasse. What is on the agenda?
There are 11 “tables” of themed negotiations, including fair trade, governance, nuclear energy and mobility of social security rights for British and EU citizens affected by Brexit. What are the stumbling blocks in talks? The main two stumbling blocks are state aid and fisheries. The EU is concerned that after Brexit the UK will start pumping money into businesses, giving it a competitive advantage over EU member state factories and services. Downing Street wants the freedom to do just that as part of its levelling up programme and as part of a strategic effort to boost tech industries in the UK. UK officials say the EU has nothing to be concerned about as the UK has repeatedly made it clear it “will not be a high subsidy regime”. Neither, they say, will Boris Johnson be taking orders from Brussels to share plans on state aid. Although it represents less than 0.1% of GDP, fisheries remains a totemic issue for Brexit-supporting communities, and therefore of political value. Again, the EU protests that the UK has yet to put forward a legal text for line-by-line discussion about a deal.