Costa Bravo - The Barclay-Barnier Letters

1/5 Following the House of Commons unanimous support for my amendment seeking to protect the rights of millions of UK citizens in the EU and EU citizens in the UK, my letter to European Council President @eucopresident. #CostaAmendment pic.twitter.com/IX8K7QAKvN

— Alberto Costa MP (@AlbertoCostaMP) March 1, 2019

Jane Lambert

The Department for Exiting the EU has published a series of letters between the Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP and Michel Barnier on Alberto Costa MP's proposal that requires HM Government to seek a joint UK/EU commitment to preserving the citizens’ rights section of the draft withdrawal agreement whatever the outcome of the brexit negotiations.

By a letter dated 4 March 2019 to Monsieur Barnier, Mr Barclay explained the proposal, acknowledged that the Commission had already made a statement on the matter but requested  Monsieur Barnier's "formal views on our Parliament's proposal.

Monsieur Barnier responded on 25 March 2019. He began by stating that safeguarding the rights of citizens affected by the UK's withdrawal from the EU had been a top priority for the EU from the start and that the draft withdrawal agreement provided those safeguards.  He said that he was familiar with the proposal having received a copy of Mr Costa's letter to Donald Tusk from Mr Costa himself. However, he found it hard to reconcile the proposal with Parliament's vote of 13 March 2019 not to leave the EU without a deal. He stressed that the draft agreement was a fair compromise and the best and only deal possible.  As the provisions on citizens' rights were mixed up with other provisions such as the continued jurisdiction of the Court of Justice on certain matters, it was impossible to see how the rights provisions could be severed from the rest.  If the UK left the EU without a deal, the member states would continue to treat British nationals fairly.

There matters stood until 17 June 2019 when Mr Barclay had another go,  He said that there was growing support for the proposal in the UK and other member states, particularly among those representing the persons affected.  He invited Monsieur Barnier to think again.

Monsieur Barnier responded the very next day. He firmly believed that an orderly exit from the EU in accordance with the withdrawal agreement remains the best outcome for both the UK and the EU. If the UK leaves without a deal, the EU and its member states "would act in a responsible way through unilateral measures." These had already been set out in the Commission's Communication of 12 June 2019. The Commission noted in that document:

"In a ‘no-deal' scenario, the UK will become a third country without any transitional arrangements. All EU primary and secondary law will cease to apply to the UK from that moment onwards. There will be no transition period, as provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement. This will obviously cause significant disruption for citizens and businesses and would have a serious negative economic impact, which would be proportionally much greater in the United Kingdom than in the EU27 Member States."

It is unusual for negotiations of this kind to be conducted in writing or for such correspondence to be published. The British government must intend the general public and, in particular, British nationals and residents to read the letters. Is it cynical to suppose that the ground is being prepared for a blame game after 31 Oct?

Anyone wishing to discuss this post or brexit, in general, should call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.