This week wasn’t the final week of negotiations, but word on the street is that a Brexit deal is very close!
Biggest Issues (Almost) Resolved
The biggest issues, fishing rights and a level playing field are still on the table, but the gap between the United Kingdom and the European Union on these issues is slowly getting smaller, according to an article in The Guardian:
“Within the frame of the level playing field progress, for example, has been made on the question of state aid, but there are still quite some metres to the finish line so there’s still a lot of work to do.
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The UK’s insistence that it needs to be able to set its own environmental, labour and social standards without any prior approval remains difficult.
Another issue that is still not resolved is dispute resolution:
The details of the treaty’s dispute resolution system are also proving hard to thrash out, with the UK wanting fisheries to be outside any sanctions regime.
Not Enough Time
The European Union and the United Kingdom are cutting it so close, that there might not be enough time to get the agreement officially translated into all 23 languages of the various member states of the European Union. The comprehensive treaty has over 600 pages of legal text.
If the treaty only involves EU competences, it will only need ratification by the European parliament but the process is complicated when it affects areas where national parliaments have a decisive role.
The deal, even if it involves both EU and national competences, could provisionally be brought into force on 1 January, with the national parliaments ratifying at a later date.
But the member states are seeking time at least for their MPs to debate the details of the deal in the remaining month and a half.
Read the full article here.
Be Prepared
Still, companies should be prepared for anything. As long as the Brexit Deal is not final, things can go wrong. There will be borders, there will be new customs procedures, and there will be many customs documents needed. If you have any questions check out our Frequently Asked Questions on Brexit page, or contact one of our specialists.
