Brexit has already been betrayed – regardless of any trade deal

Facts4EU.Org presents the latest damning evidence of the EU’s partition of the UK

© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020

When the EU breaks up the UK with the Government’s approval, the people should be informed

On Thursday last week (17 Dec 2020) the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, and European Commission Vice President, Maroš Šefčovič, co-chaired the latest meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.

The warnings we issued in our report of 10 December have been further vindicated by the latest confirmations and agreements between the UK Government and the EU Commission.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Brexit will not be delivered on 31 December 2020 – with or without a trade deal

  • The United Kingdom will not be leaving the EU on 31 December 2020
  • The EU has partitioned the United Kingdom, with the UK Government’s acquiescence
  • England, Scotland and Wales will leave the Single Market & Customs Union on 31 Dec 2020
  • Northern Ireland is being left behind, remaining under the panoply of EU laws
  • The Withdrawal Agreement will remain in force, despite breaking the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement

[Sources: Written decisions and statements from the ‘Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee’,
10 and 17 December 2020, confirmed by HMG and the EU.]

Regardless of any trade deal, there will be no Brexit this Christmas, nor subsequent Christmases

Regular readers will be familiar with our detailed reports showing how the EU’s Withdrawal Agreement (WA), signed by the Prime Minister on 24 January of this year, can never deliver Brexit.

Nonetheless, on that day Boris Johnson stated:

“The signing is a fantastic moment, which finally delivers the result of the 2016 referendum and brings to an end far too many years of argument and division.

“We can now move forward as one country…”

No Prime Minister, the United Kingdom simply cannot move forward as one country. This is a fact. Not only did you know this when you signed it, but all events subsequently have shown this to be the case.

The killer fact that should have killed the Withdrawal Treaty

Putting aside all other unacceptable aspects of the WA/PD, here we will deal with just one: the EU’s effective annexation of a significant part of the territory of the United Kingdom.

The EU's partition of the United Kingdom

Below are just three pieces of evidence amongst many, from the month of December:-

1. Statement to House of Commons, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, 10 Dec 2020

“Throughout 2020, we have worked intensively to ensure that the withdrawal agreement, in particular the Northern Ireland protocol, will be fully operational on 1 January 2021.”

Question from Richard Drax MP:

“In answering questions… he said - unless I am incorrect - that EU law will apply in Northern Ireland, as will the European Court of Justice.

Answer from Mr Gove:

“My honourable friend never gets it wrong, and he is right. It is there in the Withdrawal Agreement and in the Protocol that we accept the acquis in a specific number of areas in Northern Ireland. That is part of the Withdrawal Agreement…”

[Note: The ‘acquis’ is the EU’s body of laws, directives, and regulations. Mr Gove didn't say so, but these will also apply to businesses in England, Scotland and Wales in respect of state aid provisions.]


2. Statement from Mr Gove’s Cabinet Office, Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, 17 Dec 2020

“The Decisions adopted at this meeting demonstrate the UK’s and the EU’s commitment to the implementation of the Protocol in full

- Official UK Government press release following meeting of Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, 17 December 2020


3. Statement from the EU Commission, 17 Dec 2020

“Today marks an important milestone. We have endorsed formal decisions and other practical solutions, ensuring that the Withdrawal Agreement is operational in time, as of 1 January 2021.

“Throughout this year, we have indeed worked tirelessly to ensure that both the letter and the spirit of the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, are respected and translated into viable solutions.”

“Let me highlight the EU's two main priorities: First, robust working arrangements for the EU's presence in Northern Ireland so that our representatives can effectively carry out their tasks on the ground. In particular, I welcome that the UK has agreed to provide adequate equipment and facilities, as well as continuous, real-time access to their relevant IT systems and databases, both on the ground and remotely.

“The second priority, which I strongly welcome, is that the UK has committed to withdraw all contentious parts of its Internal Market Bill, and refrain from introducing any similar parts in its Taxation Bill.”

- Statement by Vice-President Šefčovič, EU Commission, 17 Dec 2020

Background: Who is Maroš Šefčovič?

According to the EU, Maroš Šefčovič is “European Commission Vice-President for the Energy Union and EU Space policy”. He is also “Co-chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy”. (No, we have no idea either.)

Mr Šefčovič is from Slovakia, an EU member country with a population only 8% that of the UK and with an economy just 3.7% of the size of the UK’s. He has only ever worked in academia and politics – never in what many people would describe as ‘a proper job’.

He was appointed (not elected) to his current position in December last year (2019) and is paid far more than the British Prime Minister. His appointment was rubber-stamped by the EU Parliament, after MEPs were given only one candidate to vote for, and that was Mr Šefčovič. This counts for normal in the world of EU ‘elections’.

The Withdrawal Agreement "clearly rips the Good Friday Agreement apart"

It is worth reading what one of the two main architects of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, The Rt Hon The Lord Trimble PC had to say on what the EU has done. Lord Trimble received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work leading to the Good Friday Agreement, so his words carry weight.

The EU's Withdrawal Agreement breaks the Good Friday Agreement
Says Nobel Peace Prize Winner - and one of the two main architects of it

“The Withdrawal Agreement clearly rips the GFA [Good Friday Agreement] apart.

“Since the laws governing 60 per cent of economic activity in NI will no longer be made at Westminster or by the devolved Assembly, but by an outside law-making body, the EU, and those laws will be subject to interpretation by a non-UK court, clearly the constitutional position of NI has been changed without the consent of the people of NI as required by the GFA.

“Furthermore, there is no way in which the people affected by those decisions will even have a say in the making or application of them.”

- The Rt Hon The Lord Trimble PC, 11 July 2020, CBP Report

The EU has repeatedly stressed its proclaimed intention to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. It might have been thought that they would have been deeply alarmed at Lord Trimble's conclusion that their Withdrawal Agreement "clearly rips the Good Friday Agreement apart".

Instead, there has not been a squeak out of them about this. It seems that Nobel Peace Prize winner Lord Trimble's very serious statement is not 'on message' and does not suit the EU's 'peace' agenda.

Observations

In recent weeks, EU Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič has barely been able to conceal his delight at the acquiescence of the UK Government to the continued and permanent imposition on the UK of the Withdrawal Agreement and its Northern Ireland Protocol from 01 January 2021.

The EU has succeeded in partitioning the United Kingdom. Under the legal arrangements of this Agreement the United Kingdom is neither united nor sovereign, and yet the Government has expressed no intention of either rescinding or modifying it. Indeed Mr Gove seems to have been enthusiastically embracing it all year.

This is fact. This is already a Brexit sell-out, regardless of any further sell-outs contained within the UK-EU trade deal which is likely to be signed on New Year’s Eve / New Year's morning.

Former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib gave us his comments on this Facts4EU.Org report

"The existing border in Ireland separates two sovereign states, two currencies, two corporation tax rates, two VAT rates, two excise duty rates, two phytosanitary areas and two legal jurisdictions. Unarguably it is where the customs border should be. It is an utter failure of Boris Johnson’s to capitulate to the EU and to partition the United Kingdom by putting a border in the Irish Sea."

- Ben Habib speaking to Facts4EU.Org, 22 Dec 2020

Where are the broadcast media on any of this?

We have to say that we find it unacceptable and – frankly – intolerable that it falls to the small but dedicated team from Brexit Facts4EU.Org to summarise these absolutely vital facts for MPs and the public. Where on earth are the BBC, Sky News, and ITN on any of this?

We must stress that the above points are not up for debate. They are incontestable. They are in the public domain.

If this is the low level of scrutiny which our broadcast media are applying to something as basic as the effective partition of the United Kingdom by the EU, what chance is there that any of their journalists will actually read and understand the 1,000-odd page trade agreement when we all are finally allowed to see it? Non-existent, we would suggest.

If you would like us to keep going through the ‘festive period’, holding the EU and the UK Government to account, please help us. We can’t survive without the generosity of members of the public like you. Please make a donation today, if you value our work.

Quick, secure, and confidential donation links are below or you can access our donations page here. Thank you so much.

[ Sources: Hansard | EU Commission | UK Cabinet Office | UN population data 2019 | IMF GDP data 2019 | CBP report July 2020 ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 23 Dec 2020

Click here to go to our news headlines

Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget to actually post your message after you have previewed it!

Share this article on

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

Donate

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

Subscribe

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly