EU continues to break international law over Brexit deal

“The UK government is now urgently considering next steps,” says Foreign Office

Montage © Facts4EU.Org

For over 18 months the EU has refused to fulfil its obligations - it’s still refusing

Yesterday (Thurs 22 Sept 2022) the UK Government and the EU Commission met at the Prime Minister’s insistence, to resolve the EU’s continued refusal to fulfil its obligations under UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

Despite the EU’s oft-repeated claim to be a ‘rules-based organisation’, the EU remains in breach of the TCA nearly 21 months after it came into force.

Last month Liz Truss called out the EU

In August 2022 when she was still Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss said:

“The EU is in clear breach of our agreement, repeatedly seeking to politicise vital scientific cooperation by refusing to finalise access to these important programmes. We cannot allow this to continue.
That is why the UK has now launched formal consultations and will do everything necessary to protect the scientific community.”
Liz Truss, Foreign Secretary, 16 Aug 2022

What happened yesterday?

Yesterday for only the second time there was a formal meeting of ‘The UK-EU Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes’ in Brussels. Co-chaired by officials from the UK Government and European Commission, representatives from the devolved administrations and EU member states also attended.

The result was clearly stalemate again, with the EU refusing to cooperate.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Here is what the Foreign Office said in its statement:

“The UK is seeking to implement the mutually beneficial TCA agreement to participate in EU programmes (Horizon Europe, Euratom Research and Training, Copernicus, and access to services from the Space Surveillance and Tracking programme) to the benefit of researchers and businesses across the UK and the EU.

“…the UK once again requested that the EU fulfil its obligation to finalise the UK’s association to EU Programmes after 16 months of delays. It is regrettable that the EU continues to decline this request.
“The UK has been clear … that the EU’s persistent delays to finalising UK association amount to a breach of the TCA.”
“The UK government is now urgently considering next steps. Our priority is to support the UK’s world leading R&D sector and we have already outlined potential options for doing so.”
- FCDO statement 22 Sept 2022

The UK Government will now have to escalate

With the EU’s continued refusal to meet its obligations, and with the UK having exhausted the options for resolving this amicably, the Government will now have to escalate its complaint.

The procedures for doing this are naturally complex and would eventually end up at the EU’s Court of Justice. It must be remembered that the UK’s Agreements with the EU are almost the only international treaties where one party to the treaties is the final arbiter. As Facts4EU.Org reported at the time, international treaties have dispute mechanisms where independent adjudication is the norm. This is not the case with the UK’s Agreements with the EU – at the EU’s insistence.

Observations

Will the UK now “go to the mattresses” over this?

It remains to be seen whether the UK Government will embark on a dispute process taking years, or whether it adopts a more assertive position and ‘goes nuclear’. Based on experience to date the latter is highly unlikely.

The EU’s repeated claims to being a ‘rules-based organisation’ are sounding hollow

Barely a week goes by in Brussels without the Commission taking some form of action against one or more of its member countries, for failing to adhere to some rule or regulation. These range from fairly minor infringements all the way up to major legal and constitutional issues. Currently the Commission is involved in serious battles with Poland and Hungary, which now involve threats to cut off their money.

The Commission invokes “the Rule of Law” on a regular basis – in speeches and in statements. Here is an example of the Commission President when she was addressing the EU Parliament last year, but there are hundreds more.

“The rule of law is the glue that binds our Union together. It is the foundation of our unity.”
- Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament Plenary on the rule of law, 19 Oct 2021

It would seem that “the Rule of Law” doesn’t apply to the EU Commission itself.

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[ Sources: FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) | EU Commission | EU Parliament ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Fri 23 Sept 2022

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Reader Comments 10

1. Adam , Friday, September 23, 2022, 09:31:

Anything to say Remoaner fifth Columnists your beloved EU is never wrong is it, as for giving Dozey Joe a state visit wtf for cancel it Liz Truss

2. Not4EU, London , Friday, September 23, 2022, 10:24:

Once more onto the smoke & mirrors carousel.
Our Govt (4 PMs so far) have singularly failed to properly implement the decision to leave the EU, made 6 years ago in 2016.
All words and no action over the disgraceful WA including the GFA-breaking NIP, and effective annexation of part of our country. Annexation I hear you say? We must fight to the last person to prevent this. Oh sorry, wrong country.
She's already backed down from triggering A16.
She's met with Micron and failed to mention the most important problem of trafficking foreign cultures to our country to live a 5* lifestyle on bennies. No mention of fishing either.
She's now 'interested' in EU v2, a roundabout way of engineering EU control over every aspect of our country - again. It'll just be a trading bloc - honest!
She's appointed Bliar, yes the man who should be in jail for his crimes and put us, along with Brown, fully under the control of the EU, to 'sort out' our relationship with the EU.
You couldn't make it up.
Of course the EU are not going to co-operate. Problem, reaction, solution. The magical 'solution' to 'all' of our problems will be either via joining the SM/CU (labour) or the EU 'lite' (same thing just a different name). Of course there will be onerous 'fees'/money laundering to pay for our demise & obedience to the landlords. As a backstop, they'll be using the NIP to engineer compliance & conformity with their EU standards. It's one of the reasons why VAT, an EU construct, wasn't immediately changed as it couldn't be applied to NI. Rather than make their shambles obvious, they kept things per the EU requirements.
Our Govt, & plod, are riddled with institutional cowardice.
We need Govts that serve us, the people, not themselves or unelected technocrats.

3. LuxuryBalloon , Friday, September 23, 2022, 10:39:

Has Tony Blair been drafted in by Truss to help break the deadlock over the Northern Ireland Protocol?

4. Not4EU, London , Friday, September 23, 2022, 12:04:

3. Luxury Balloon.
He and the former Irish PM, Bertie Aherne, have been 'helping' explain the GFA to the EU apparently.
Odd that nobody took any notice of David Trimble, the other GFA architect when he was pointing out that the NIP broke the GFA, whilst they stayed silent, before it was signed.
One cannot help but think that they are colluding in further EU deviousness, and so by association is our Govt too. Not a good look for the Govt. It is no secret that if he could, Bliar would have us bound in chains to the EU in a heartbeat.

5. Simon Jonathan , Friday, September 23, 2022, 13:44:

Typical UK government... thinking about maybe doing something with the freedom they've been handed by the referendum... maybe... leave the ECHR... or think about it some more..

6. Tim B , Friday, September 23, 2022, 14:22:

Not4EU Agreed in what you say and more worrying comments continue to come out of the government.
1 Considering attending Macron’s new EU Lite meeting in Prague on 6 October
2 Likely giving the EU yet another deadline for the NI Protocol issue of April 2023 (yes really)
3 The new Brexit Freedoms Bill announced (Retained EU Law Revocation and Reform Bill) has been written to allow the exclusion of NI.
The saying that the British Government has taken far too long and been been far too soft with the EU is now becoming redundant. It seems they are actually basing their policy on appeasing the EU.

7. Adam , Friday, September 23, 2022, 15:02:

The withdrawal agreement must be got rid of trigger article 16 tell Biden where to go

8. LuxuryBalloon , Friday, September 23, 2022, 18:48:

4 Thanks Not4EU … I share your concerns.

9. Ashley Great Britain , Saturday, September 24, 2022, 07:57:

If truss is really listening to advice from people like bliar we are pritty stuffed.
I want to give liz a fair chance but this is not looking good.
Are we stuck yet again with an appeaser.
This is ridiculous, Brexit is far from done and they show no sign of ever actually doing it.
Just a few items that need to happen first.
1.Proceed with art 16 over Nip,
Spend the following years negotiating for a true mutually beneficial traid agreement which is unlikely to succeed.
2.leave ECHR.
3.Detain and send illigal immigrants to origin or safe country.
4.Charge foreign fishing vessels for fishing in our 200 mile zone and make them land all fish in UK for processing.
5. Stop sending money to the EU. Not for anything.
Of course there is much to add to that list, but if the basic items don't happen such as above, you can see the UK government is not completing Brexit and has no intention of doing so.

10. Buster , Sunday, September 25, 2022, 18:52:

Brexit is done. It’s just shit.
It would be easier and cheaper just to deport the far-right Brexitist gutter dwellers. Send the red-faced vermin to Rwanda - encourage the government there to indulge in a little gammon-beating.

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