Research Briefing
Commons Briefing Paper 8397, What if there's no Brexit deal? considered among other things how the UK and the EU arrived at a situation in which a no-deal Brexit might happen. This paper considers the position since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July.
Research Briefing
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was formally adopted by 164 Member States of the United Nations, including the UK, in December 2018. This briefing explains what's in the Compact and its implications for Member States.
Research Briefing
We don't know what the future relationship between the UK and the EU will be. It has been suggested that an Association Agreement might be appropriate because it is a fairly flexible kind of agreement and can include a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. But an Association Agreement also requires a degree of legislative approximation of the third country with the laws of the EU, and it isn't clear whether the UK Government would find this acceptable. This paper looks at the scope and contents of some existing Association Agreements.
Research Briefing
The UK is party to hundreds of international treaties with third states or organisations, many of them on trade, by virtue of its EU membership. To continue to benefit from the advantages of these agreements, the Government has been seeking to replace them in a UK bilateral context. The Government has prioritised trade agreements, but has also agreed replacement agreements covering aviation services and safety, and road transport, for example. But Parliament is not happy about the way the Government is carrying out this 'treaty continuity programme' and Committees in both Houses have called for a greater scrutiny role for Parliament in treaty-making processes. This paper looks at what has been going on and what Parliamentary Committees in both Houses have asked for. It includes a table showing where we are with scrutiny of these treaties and what sort of scrutiny they have undergone, both in their precursor form as EU treaties and currently as replacement treaties.
Research Briefing
This briefing looks in detail at the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the EU and UK and finalised on 14 November 2018. It was endorsed by EU Member State leaders at a special European Council summit on 25 November and the UK Prime Minister promoted it in the UK Parliament and around the country. The Agreement was debated at length in Parliament on several occasions and has been voted on three times. But the House of Commons has not endorsed it. A second extension of Article 50 took exit day to 31 October 2019, but once again the UK is faced with the possibility of leaving the EU without an agreement if this agreement or another one is not ratified by the UK and the EU.
Debate Pack
A Westminster Hall debate on 'The continued importance of International Humanitarian Law in protecting civilians in conflict’ has been scheduled for Tuesday 18 June 2019, from 9:30-11:00am. The debate will be led by Ann Clwyd MP, Andrew Mitchell MP, Tom Brake MP and Stephen Twigg MP.
Research Briefing
What is happening in the World Trade Organization, and how does this relate to the current US administration's trade policy? This briefing paper explores these two issues, and considers what consequences they might have for a post-Brexit UK.
Research Briefing
The House of Commons has voted on various options for the future UK-EU relationship in the hope that an agreed UK position may help to break the impasse following the Commons' rejection of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement. The Government says it may hold a further Commons vote on future relationship options. What options have been proposed?
Research Briefing
The EU has agreed to extend Article 50 a second time. This could delay Brexit until 31 October 2019. This has implications for the UK while it remains in the EU, and could also impact on decisions taken within the EU over the next few months
Research Briefing
With the UK due to leave the EU next week and no Withdrawal Agreement as yet approved by the House of Commons, the Government has requested that the EU agree an extension to the Article 50 period in order to delay Brexit. Under what scenarios could an Article 50 extension be agreed with the EU? And could this lead to the UK taking part in the European Parliament elections?
Research Briefing
Could the UK unilaterally terminate the Withdrawal Agreement under international law if the Irish backstop, which the Agreement says is intended to be temporary, became permanent? An amendment from Sir Edward Leigh to the Government’s motion in December 2018 on approving the Withdrawal Agreement called for an assurance from the Government that it would terminate the Withdrawal Agreement if the EU refused to agree to removing the backstop at the end of 2021. This note looks at provisions in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties for terminating and denouncing treaties, and arguments about whether these might apply to the Withdrawal Agreement if the Irish backstop were to persist.
Research Briefing
This paper looks at the possible options for dealing with returning terrorist fighters
Research Briefing
On 11 March 2019 the UK government and the EU agreed a series of 'interpretations' and 'clarifications' of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration they negotiated in November 2018. What is in the published documents? What are their effects? To what extent do they provide legally binding guarantees? How did they change the Attorney General's legal opinion of the Withdrawal Agreement? What was the result of the second 'meaningful vote' held in the House of Commons on the updated 'package', and what happens next?
Research Briefing
South Sudan was born in 2011. Since the moment of its birth, its people have been embroiled in turmoil, conflict and suffering. Although the civil war which has raged since 2013 has complex roots, observers attribute much of the blame to its leaders, President Salva Kiir Mayardit and former First Vice-President Riek Machar, who head up opposing political and armed factions of the ruling party. Over the last year or so, there have been renewed peace efforts. Could this mean peace at last?
Research Briefing
What could happen if the EU and UK negotiators don't agree a withdrawal agreement in time and the UK has to leave the EU on 29 March 2019 without one - and with no framework for future relations either? This paper looks at how such a situation might come about, the constitutional implications for the UK and in some cases for the devolved administrations, and what the impact might be in a range of policy areas.
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