Both the draft withdrawal agreement and the political declaration have a potentially considerable impact on the British Constitution. Some of the constitutional issues that are likely to arise in each bill on the implementation of the withdrawal agreement are as follows: the withdrawal agreement provides for a transitional period until 31 December 2020, during which the UK will remain in the single market to ensure the smooth flow of trade until a long-term relationship is concluded. If no agreement is reached by then, the UK will leave the single market without a trade deal on 1 January 2021. The withdrawal agreement is closely linked to a non-binding political declaration on future relations between the EU and the UK. The protocol also contains a unilateral exit mechanism for Northern Ireland: the Northern Ireland Assembly will vote every four years on whether these rules, which require a simple majority, should be maintained. These votes take place two months before the end of each four-year period, with the first period beginning at the end of December 2020 (when the transition period is scheduled). [26] If the Assembly is suspended on that date, the GG vote shall be held. If the Assembly expresses inter-community support in one of these periodic votes, the protocol will apply for the next eight years instead of the usual four years. [26] However, if the Assembly votes against the continuation of these rules, the UK and the EU will be given two years to adopt new rules. [24] [25] The agreement covers issues such as money, citizens` rights, border agreements and dispute resolution. It also includes a transition period and an overview of the future relationship between the UK and the EU. It was published on 14 November 2018 and was the result of the Brexit negotiations. The agreement was approved by the heads of state and government of the other 27 EU countries[9] and by the British government led by Prime Minister Theresa May, but it faced opposition from the British Parliament, which needed approval for ratification.
The approval of the European Parliament would also have been necessary. On January 15, 2019, the House of Commons rejected the withdrawal agreement by 432 votes to 202. [10] The House of Commons again rejected the agreement by 391 votes to 242 on 12 March 2019 and rejected it a third time, on 29 March 2019, by 344 votes to 286. On 22 October 2019, the revised withdrawal agreement negotiated by Boris Johnson`s government approved the first phase in Parliament, but Johnson halted the legislative process when the accelerated approval programme failed to receive the necessary support and announced his intention to declare a general election. [12] On 23 January 2020, Parliament ratified the agreement by adopting the withdrawal agreement; On 29 January 2020, the European Parliament approved the withdrawal agreement. It was then concluded by the Council of the European Union on 30 January 2020. CONSIDERING that the joint report by EU and UK government negotiators on progress in the first phase of the Article 50 Negotiations on The Kill (EU Treaty) on the UK`s orderly withdrawal from the European Union on 8 December 2017 presents three different scenarios for the protection of North-South cooperation and to avoid a hard border that this protocol is based on the third scenario , which provides for full alignment with these EU rules. Internal market and customs union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation, the island`s economy and the protection of the 1998 agreement, without an alternative settlement being agreed to implement another scenario… [32] The agreement also provides for a transitional period that extends until 31 December 2020 and can be extended by mutual agreement.