Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement - Joint Committee's First Meeting

Rt Hon Michael Gove MP

Author Chris McAndrew

Licence: Attribution 3.0 Unported
Source Wikipedia Michael Gove 

Jane Lambert

In EU's Draft Agreement on a New Partnership with the UK 29 March 2020, I wrote:

"Art 164 (1) of [the witdrawal] agreement established a Joint Committee comprising representatives of the EU and UK which shall be responsible for the implementation and application of the agreement. Following telephone discussions between the Vice-President of the Commission and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. a meeting is scheduled for tomorrow. Top of the agenda will be citizens' rights and the Northern Irish protocol."

A meeting did take place on 30 March 2020 by teleconference and the Cabinet Office and Michael Gove MP have published a Readout from the first meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.

Citizens' rights and Northern Ireland were both discussed and the British government gave the following assurance::

"The UK reiterated our commitment to protecting the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in all respects, and to upholding our obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol. The UK emphasised our commitment to EU citizens in the UK and ensuring that UK nationals in the EU have their rights protected consistent with the Withdrawal Agreement."

Because compliance with the existing withdrawal agreement is likely to be crucial to the prospects of success of the new partnership negotiations, the role of the Joint Committee is important. That may well be the reason yesterday for the publication by the Cabinet Office of a Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee - Fact Sheet at a time when the attention of governments everywhere is focused on other things.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or the new relationship negotiations generally (and in particular their impact on innovation) should message me through my contact form. If you want a discussion by phone or VoIP I shall be glad to call you back.