Overview
The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Rt Hon David Davis MP (Con, Haltemprice and Howden) gave an oral statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday updating Members following the fifth round of negotiations with the EU, which were completed in Brussels on 12 October.
Davis reviewed the five negotiation rounds which have been held since June and cited the progress which was made in the latest meeting regarding:
In his conclusion, Davis highlighted the recent discussion of “sufficient” progress in EU negotiations, referring to this notion as an EU construct rather than a UK one, and reinforced the “substantial” progress both teams have made over recent months.
Key points
“We have made further progress towards giving British citizens in the EU, and EU27 citizens in the UK, the greatest possible legal certainty about the future”
“The administration process (for European citizens gaining settled status in the UK) will be completely new, streamlined and, importantly, low cost”
“Shared determination to tackle the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland by focusing on creative solutions”
“On the financial settlement, discussions continued in the spirit fostered by the Prime Minister’s significant statements in her Florence speech”
“On separation issues we have continued to work through the detail on a range of issues”
Analysis
While the Secretary of State’s statement struck a positive tone, referring to the “momentum and spirit of co-operation” and referring to negotiations as “on the right track” Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Keir Starmer QC MP (Lab, Holborn and St Pancras), criticised the Government for failing to secure agreement on key issues by the agreed deadline. Starmer called on the Secretary of State to deliver on a commitment to accelerate talks following the European Council’s meeting.
The SNP Brexit spokesperson Peter Grant MP (SNP, Glenrothes) drew attention to the “talking up” of a no deal and asked the Secretary of State to “absolutely” rule this out as the “worst of all possible deals”. Davis emphasised the need to have a right to walk away as, if not “you get a terrible deal”.
Whilst progress of the negotiations are dominating Government statements and press coverage, it is likely this attention will shift to focus on domestic legislation shortly, given that the dates of the Committee stage of the EU Withdrawal Bill have yet to be announced. Rumours were circulating that the Government is considering bringing the Bill to the floor of the House after the November recess, leaving very little time for debate before Christmas.
Next steps
It is likely that the decision for the talks to progress to ‘phase two’ (discussing the future relationship and trade partnership with the EU) will be taken at the European Council’s December summit.
If you would like to speak to Newington about the state of play during Brexit negotiations, how your business could be affected by Brexit, and how best to engage with Government, please get in touch with our dedicated Brexit team at teamNExEU@newingtoncomms.co.uk or call Lizzy Roberts on 020 7234 3332.