European Union

Trade Watch 2018: Brexit

/ Andrea M. Ewart, Esq. / Leave a comment

On March 29, 2019 the United Kingdom (UK)is scheduled to leave the European Union (EU). On what terms?What will Brexit mean for the future of the UK’s trading relations with the EU and the rest of the world?

Just over a year ago (on March 29, 2017), UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, informed the EU of its intention to withdraw from the European Union. Her act honored the outcome of the June 23rd Brexit referendum.This act also triggered a one-year deadline for the UK to negotiate the terms of its two-phased departure process from the EU.

Agreement on Leaving the EU

A withdrawal agreement finalized between the UK and the EU one-day short of the deadline, on March 28th (2018), outlines the status of the UK during the first phase – a transition period which will end March 29, 2019. During this transition period:

  • The UK will legally remain part of the EU Single Market and be bound by its EU obligations.UK citizens will retain their rights within the EU. EU citizens living in the UK (or who arrive during the transition period) will retain their residency rights during and beyond the transition period.The UK will continue to be bound by its obligations under EU international treaties, including those on trade and investment.
  • The UK will have to abide by and comply with EU laws and policies but will no longer have a voteon EU decision-making bodies.
  • The UK won the right to begin trade negotiations with other countries during the transition period. This is a questionable win as the countries seeking to negotiate during this period of uncertainty about UK’s relations with the EU may perceive the UK as weakened and unable to negotiate on equal terms. UK’s weakened negotiating position can also be said to apply in its negotiations with the EU.

During an implementation phase which will end December 31, 2020, the EU’s laws and regulations will continue to apply in the UK. The European Court of Justice will retain ultimate authority to resolve disputes during this period. The UK will continue to pay into the EU budget up through this date.

The withdrawal agreement is comprised of 168 articles covering a full gamut of the issues that will need to be addressed during this separation phase.

Negotiating Future EU-UK Trading Relations

The EU and UK now turn to negotiating the terms of EU-UK trading relationship after the end of the transition period. Observers believe this process will be complex and requires several years to get it right. However, the UK has only several months until October 2018. The following two issues illustrate the complexity of the task.

Financial Services

London is Europe’s largest financial center and benefits greatly from its ability to move capital and services freely within the single market. In 2016, financial and insurance services contributed 7.2% to UK’s GDP.  The EU’s single market is based on the “four freedoms” – free movement of goods, capital, services, and people. Brexiters’ vote to leave the EU was in large part fueled by disenchantment and fears from the inflow of persons under this free movement regime. However, leaving the EU means losing all obligations and rights under this free movement regime. The UK is hoping to negotiate an exception for its financial services. The EU, however, has emphatically stated that Britain as a non-EU member will be treated as a third country in all aspects of EU-UK trading relations. According to the EU, countries over which EU laws, regulations and judicial decisions do not apply will have only the same or similar limited access to the single market as do other non-EU trading partners. The UK will therefore be seeking to negotiate terms for its financial services sector in the future EU-UK trading relationship that come as close as possible to the position enjoyed in the single market.

Irish Border Question

The hard-won peaceful and open Irish border of the Good Friday Agreement is one unintended victim of Brexit. The Republic of Ireland, an independent country will remain in the EU. Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, will not. The British government has committed to maintaining a “frictionless and invisible Irish border”. This commitment can be assured by the UK’s continued participation in the EU customs union, which provides freedom of trade in goods only. Monaco and UK bases in Cyprus are currently part of the EU customs union but not of the single market and a customs union seems a workable compromise for the UK. However, the British government is so far resisting this idea(possibly because of concerns about the financial services sector which would be excluded).

However, the withdrawal agreement has stated that if the parties fail to reach an alternative approach for the post-Brexit period, a common customs area will be maintained across all of Ireland. This “backstop agreement” will effectively leave Northern Ireland within the EU customs union if the EU-UK trade agreement does not include an alternative solution.

Questions Remain

In the withdrawal agreement, the EU and UK have agreed that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”. What will happen if the EU and UK are unable to negotiate terms of their future relationship by the October 2018 deadline? The transition period may need to be extended. This option is not at all advantageous to the UK which will have to abide by policies and rules it may not have had a role in shaping and continue to pay into the EU budget.

Alternatively, the UK may leave the EU without an agreement. This alternative is a worst-case scenario which no one wants or expects to happen but cannot be completely discounted.We can hope that the high stakes guarantee the parties’ commitments to staying at the negotiating table.

Conference: “The EU Social Market Economy: Challenges and Opportunities”

/ Osazenoriuwa Ebose / Leave a comment

Date: Friday September, 23th 2016

Time: 9.30 am-4 pm (registration at the venue from 8.30)

Venue: Renehan Hall, South Campus, Maynooth University

 

The Department of Law is pleased to announce the conference ‘The EU Social Market Economy: Challenges and Opportunities’, which will take place on Friday September, 23th 2016.

 

Speakers include: Prof. Sybe De Vries (University of Utrecht), Prof. Dagmar Schieck (Queen’s University Belfast), Dr Egle Dagilyte (Anglia Ruskin University), Prof.  Blanaid Clarke (Trinity College Dublin), Dr David Mangan (City University London), Dr. Clemens Rieder (Lancaster University), Dr. J. Jorge Piernas Lopez (University of Murcia).

The full programme will also be available at https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/law.

The conference will be convened by Prof. Michael Doherty and Dr Delia Ferri, and attendance is welcomed and encouraged from researchers, academics, practitioners and postgraduate students.

To express your interest or to RSVP please email Dr. Delia Ferri at delia.ferri@nuim.ie

Find Programme Here 

 

Go On! European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation

/ Karen Hoffmann / 1 Comment

unnamed-2

The European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (E.MA) is now accepting applications. E.MA is a unique Master’s programme developed by 10 pioneering universities that today counts on the participation of 41 prestigious universities and human rights centres from all member states of the European Union.
The programme is an intensive one-year advanced master’s course and an outstanding mix of theory and practice and higher education, preparing students for careers in international organisations, field operations, governmental and non-governmental bodies and academia.

Reference point for the promotion of Human Rights Education
Established during the academic year 1997-1998, E.MA is the flagship activity and first postgraduate course of EIUC, and reaches, with its next edition, its 18th anniversary.
The E.MA Programme has become an educational reference point in the human rights field around the world. Its growing reputation is based on the selection every year of up to 90 students from around the world who are ready to work hard and commit to human rights as a profession. The European Inter–University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) offers unparalleled access to human rights experts and practitioners from Europe who teach classes and offer students invaluable guidance for their future careers.

A joint European master’s programme 
E.MA brings together experts and professors representing the 41 E.MA participating universities, officials of international organisations (including the European Union, the United Nations and the Council of Europe) and practitioners of national and international NGOs.
E.MA is both a residential and an exchange programme: during the first semester students stay in Venice (Italy), while for the second semester they move to one of the E.MA participating universities located throughout Europe. Subject to the availability of financial resources, the course also includes a week-long field trip to a post-conflict country.
More information can be found here.
Applications will be processed on an ongoing basis in two rounds. The first round deadline has passed, but the second round deadline is 15 March 2015.

‘Heading to Europe: Safe Haven or Graveyard?’ Panel discussion on migration by sea at Radboud University Nijmegen May 16

/ Karen Hoffmann / Leave a comment

The Interest Group on Migration and Refugee Law of the European Society of International Law, the Centre for Migration Law of the Radboud University Nijmegen and the Amsterdam Center for International Law of the University of Amsterdam are pleased to announce ‘Heading to Europe: Safe Haven or Graveyard?’, a panel discussion on migration by sea in the Mediterranean. The panel discussion will be held on 16 May 2014 at the Radboud University Nijmegen.

The year of 2013 has demonstrated that the tragedy of thousands of migrants and refugees drowning on the shores of Europe is now a common occurrence.  The fate of those who perished near the Italian island of Lampedusa has brought the urgency of the situation into focus. The aim of the panel discussion is to provide an overview of the legal rules and processes applicable to migration by sea in the Mediterranean and to reflect on their wider sociological implications.

The panel discussion consists of two panels, each followed by a plenary discussion. In the first panel, legal experts working in the field of academia and at stakeholder organizations (e.g. UN Refugee Agency, Council of Europe, European Union) focus on legal aspects of boat migration in the Mediterranean. The second panel brings together scholars and practitioners with first-hand experience from transit countries to discuss the sociological effects of the legal rules and processes. Click here for the complete program, and here for more information on the panelists.

The organizing partners cordially invite interested scholars, governments officials, practitioners and advanced students to join in the panel discussion ‘Heading to Europe: Safe Haven or Graveyard?’. Active participation in the discussion is strongly encouraged. Participation is free of charge. For participation, please register at the bottom of this page. For inquiries, please contact Lisa-Marie Komp at lisa-marie.komp@law-school.de.

Location is the CPO-zaal, Spinozagebouw at the Radboud University in Nijmegen (Montessorilaan 3).

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

P5+1: The international agreement where all parties are happy

/ Azin Tadjdini / 6 Comments

Sunday 24 November 2013, it was announced that the P5+1 (the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China, facilitated by the European Union) had reached an agreement with Iran regarding the latter’s nuclear program. According to each country’s statements the agreement is a success and everyone is a winner. But when have we ever witnessed an agreement of such kind?

Although the agreement is not officially published in full, we get a glimpse of some of its important features from the points that have been released in media. The least interesting thing about the “Nuclear agreement” is the nuclear issue.

For a non-democratic regime that faces strong opposition from within and which has been severely crippled by economic sanctions, the agreement proves to be a life-saving last solution- at least for six months. Under the agreement, a few of the economic sanctions are lifted. In return the regime will stay a live and in power as a de facto protectorate with minimal economic sovereignty still intact. The agreement places the major income source- the oil trade- under the control of the P5+1, by providing that Iran’s crude oil sales cannot increase in a six-month period, resulting in what is estimated to be about $30 billion  in lost revenues to the country. Further restrictions are placed on Iran’s access to its oil sales; on its foreign exchange holdings and on a number of other financial services. A regime that preaches fight against imperialism and “the West”, now finds itself in the peculiar situation where its survival rests precisely on “the West” and a new kind of economic imperialism resulting from the country’s lack of acknowledgement of international law and the rules of the game.

On the bright side, the agreement might have prevented a more serious conflict. But here we can only guess. What we can be certain about, however, is that any agreement where the world’s major powers are involved and where all are smiling has wider geopolitical significance than the nuclear issue.