Draft Withdrawal Agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU

As highlighted in the media yesterday, the European Commission has published its Draft Withdrawal Agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and the European Atomic Energy Community today (28 February 2018).

There are many of the already widely discussed features of the EU position within the Draft Withdrawal Agreement including:

Part One – Common Provisions
(Definitions and References to Union Law especially Article 5 Reference to Union Law based on the last day of the transition period)

Part Two – Citizens Rights
(in relation to EU Citizens within the United Kingdom & UK Citizens with EU Member States on the last day of the transition period)

Part Three – Separation Provisions
(covering goods placed on the market)

Part Four – Transition
(The continued application of Union Law in the period from the date of entry into force of the Withdrawal Agreement to the 31 December 2020)

Part Five – Financial Provisions
(The settlement of any outstanding budgetary contributions for the years 2019 and 2020 and any other financial considerations)

Part Six – Institutional and Final Provisions
(The management of the role of the Court of Justice and other Institutions)

There is little specific mention of the environment in the current version of the draft with only one reference in Article 7 of the Chapter III Common Regulatory Area regarding the import into, export out of, release into, or transport within the Union of substances or material, or plant or animal species and a consequential reference to a list in Annex 2.8, which has not been attached to the current version.

The current EU position on waste imports, transit and exports involving the EU has been the subject of an earlier Notice to Stakeholders – Withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU waste Law, which was reported in an earlier article here.

There are many further EU and UK negotiations that will be taking place in the coming month, which may make it clearer how the regulation of environmental issues with be regulated within the UK after Brexit & the UK relationship on environmental protection measures developed within the EU following the UK withdrawal.

For now, a copy of the current draft agreement can be freely downloaded here with an additional FAQ document available here.