The UK government is to set out details Thursday of how it plans to convert thousands of pieces of EU law into domestic law when Britain leaves the European Union.
A white paper is expected to give the first detailed insight into how the so-called Great Repeal Bill will work, as the UK government seeks to ease uncertainty among businesses and institutions over what to expect.
Laws and rules covering areas as diverse as workers’ rights, environmental regulations and how the financial services industry operates will need to be converted into UK statutes.
The step comes a day after the UK government formally served divorce papers on the European Union by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty — beginning a legal process that must end in two years’ time with Britain leaving the EU.
The letter, signed by Prime Minister Theresa May, suggested that a failure to reach a Brexit deal “would mean our cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened”. That prompted claims that May was threatening to use the safety of UK and European citizens as a bargaining chip in Brexit talks.
David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, played down the suggestion of a rift with the EU on Thursday. “This is not a threat. This is a statement of the fact that this would be harmful for both of us, not one of us,” Davis told the BBC. “It’s an argument for having a deal. That’s the point. That’s what we’re after,” Davis said.
The European Parliament’s co-ordinator for Brexit, Guy Verhofstadt, said the EU would oppose any attempt by Britain to link security with an exit deal.
Asked if he thought May was engaged in “blackmail”, Verhofstadt said: “I try to be a gentleman, so towards a lady I don’t even use or think about the word ‘blackmail’,” he told a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
The tussle over security overshadowed the British government’s attempt to strike a conciliatory tone with the EU. In the Article 50 letter, May said she hoped Britain and the EU would remain the closest of allies and that the UK sought a”deep and special partnership.” She also made clear that she wanted to avoid walking away with no deal.
A number of European leaders are expected to hold news conferences while meeting in Malta on Thursday.
Sovereignty ‘at heart of referendum’
The idea that Britain would regain control of its own laws was important to many who voted to leave the European Union in the referendum held last June.
The UK government said its Great Repeal Bill, announced to Parliament in October, would “allow for a smooth and stable transition as the UK leaves the EU, ensuring that, wherever practical, the same rules and laws will apply after exit day.”
UK politicians will then be able to make whatever changes are necessary through the use of secondary legislation, it said. According to the Department for Exiting the EU, these will involve “mechanical changes that ensure laws function properly after EU exit” rather than policy shifts.
“At the heart of the referendum decision was sovereignty. A strong, independent country needs control of its own laws. That process starts now,” Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis said in a statement.
“Converting EU law into UK law, and ending the supremacy of lawmakers in Brussels, is an important step in giving businesses, workers and consumers the certainty they need.
“And it will mean that as we seek a comprehensive new economic partnership with the EU, our allies will know that we start from a position where we have the same standards and rules.”