The EU warns of a “negative impact on trade” if the UK changes European laws

Brussels has warned that the British government’s plans to repeal or amend hundreds of EU laws could have a “negative impact on trade”.

In his speech at the annual conference of the EU-UK Forum on Monday, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Śefović, emphasized that Brussels is following the development of the law of repeal and reform of EU legislation through the British process. MP “very, very close.”

“I understand (a) that a large part of the audience following this conference would like to see smoother trading, less friction, less complications, but that is very difficult to achieve if the decision is simply for more divergence or if, for example, the law that We have built it together for many, many decades and which underpins some of the foundations of the Withdrawal Agreement and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement will be discarded.”

“We’re talking about it with our British colleagues, so we’ll see how it all plays out, but as I said, if we find ourselves in a situation where there’s going to be more divergence, there’s obviously going to be more hurdles and it’s going to have a negative impact on trade.”

Hundreds of EU laws in the spotlight

The UK bill, called the EU Law Repeal and Reform Act, would allow lawmakers to repeal or amend some EU laws that remained in UK law after Brexit. The country “separated” from the bloc more than three years ago but many laws have been retained in order to provide legal certainty and continuity once Britain leaves the EU.

The bill, introduced under Boris Johnson’s government, initially provided for a repeal clause under which thousands of EU laws would automatically expire on December 31, 2023. However, the new chief executive of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rescinded the clause, citing the need to maintain legal certainty. .

More than 1,000 EU laws have been repealed or amended and the government has published a list of 600 EU laws that could work the same way under this law, with another 500 planned under two other pieces of legislation: the Financial Services and Markets Bill and the Procurement Bill. the public.

It comes months after Brussels and London finally reached an agreement to resolve tensions over the Northern Ireland Protocol and ease the movement of goods between Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland through simpler customs rules.

The Windsor Framework was then defined as a “historic” and “new chapter” for EU-UK relations, and led to a thaw in relations between the two capitals, also driven by the need to show a united front in supporting Ukraine in the face of a brutal Russian invasion, and common challenges such as Energy crisis and high inflation.

EU ‘a highly valued ally and friend’

Šifovic stressed that any further divergence from EU law would require the bloc to take steps to ensure any imports meet its rules, such as additional checks and paperwork. “So it’s definitely not something that makes things easy for entrepreneurs,” he said.

“We understand that the UK is a sovereign country, we respect the decision to leave the European Union and of course the fact that the UK is governed by its own laws. We just remember what the consequences could be and how they could affect our business and economic relations.”

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly did not address the issue of trade in his address to the conference on Monday. “It is my priority to foster a closer relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, building on Marco de Windsor’s historic achievements,” he said in a pre-recorded video describing the European Union as a “very grateful ally and friend.”

“I want to move forward in the same spirit of mutual trust and ambition for our relationship and work closely with you on other areas of mutual interest,” he added. In addition, he emphasized that cooperation on migration is an “absolute priority” and cited energy, science, research and security as other key areas of interest.