European Union (Withdrawal) Bill – First Report of Session 2017-19

This report on the European (Withdrawal) Bill follows a short inquiry to examine aspects of the Bill in order to inform the Committee and Report Stage.

Core Findings

The inquiry focused on the Bill’s provisions for converting the acquis communautaire into British law, the implications for the devolution settlements and the power to implement the withdrawal agreement. The report concludes that:

• The government’s amendments to set the exit say as 11pm on 29 March 2019 would create significant difficulties if EU negotiations go down to the wire
• More clarity is needed on the scope and status of retained EU law.
• Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU – which covers the precautionary principle – should be converted into domestic law as a directly effective right.
• The Government should justify the purpose of Clause 9 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill given its announcement of a separate EU Withdrawal and Implementation Bill.