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What's Wrong with the Withdrawal Agreement

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What's Wrong with the Withdrawal Agreement 6th March 2019 What’s Wrong with the Withdrawal Agreement: The 15 MAJOR FAILINGS of MAY’s DEAL There has been a great deal of focus on the Irish Backstop, so much so the renegotiation of the Withdrawal Agreement, most recently attempted by the Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox MP, has focused entirely on this single issue. Everyone seems to have forgotten there are many more problems with the Withdrawal Agreement! Far too much of the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement is being deemed acceptable, in many cases because the majority of Remain MPs in Parliament do not believe in the Leave result of the EU Referendum, even though so many of the voters in their constituencies voting Leave. British politicians need to ensure we get a real, true and clean Brexit, and get behind the World Trade Organisation No Deal option, instead of this half-baked betrayal of the Great British Public. Below are Get Britain Out’s 15 major failings in the EU Withdrawal Agreement: 1. European Court of Justice: For the duration of the Transition Period and any continuation of it - whether in the Irish Backstop or other arrangements - the UK is bound by decisions of the European Court and would be legally obligated to put into place the precedent set by any European judge for a minimum of 5 years. So, without any influence over the European Court, this country would, in effect, be a ‘vassal’ to the ECJ and would be forced to accept the rulings of a foreign power after Brexit. 2. £39 Billion Brexit ‘Divorce’ Bill: We are handing over this vast sum of money - which is almost equivalent to our entire annual defence budget - for what appears to be a guarantee of nothing in the future! We were told this would be seen as a ‘goodwill payment of debts’ which we supposedly owe the EU! Yet we have seen none of this goodwill from the EU in return. We are almost at the end of the 2-year negotiation period, with effectively nothing to show for it. Some payment might be acceptable if we actually saw some movement in our favour, but this Withdrawal Agreement contains nothing of the sort. This is money which should be invested in our own country after Brexit for the future of the United Kingdom. 3. Restricting our ability to pursue trade deals: Within the current Withdrawal Agreement, the United Kingdom is deprived of what is potentially the single most attractive thing about Brexit – to become more independent, and the ability to pursue our own trade deals around the world, so we can advance towards a truly Global Britain. This Agreement stops us negotiating and agreeing new trade deals, within any Transition Period, and restricts us even further - for an unlimited period of time - if the Backstop is implemented. United States President, Donald Trump, has already stated a Free Trade deal between the UK and the USA would not be possible if the UK signs up to the Withdrawal Agreement. Among other things, this is because the Agreement limits the ability of a sovereign UK Government to decide on the levels of tariffs it wishes to implement as a part of any new Free Trade Agreements. We have huge opportunities to do excellent trade deals around the world, with countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada and many others inside and out of the Commonwealth. They are lining up to increase their trade with Britain. The Withdrawal Agreement does not facilitate these deals, but delays Britain’s ability to conclude trade deals until we are free of the EU after Brexit. 4. ‘Level Playing Field’ alignment: The Agreement puts rules into place which mean the UK is required to keep in regulatory alignment with the EU on matters such as agriculture subsidies and tax policy. This would effectively give the EU control over the UK’s economic policy. The UK would not be able to lower taxes and increase subsidies where necessary to vital parts of our economy, or be free to compete on the global stage to our best advantage, being tied to EU regulations. 5. UK to potentially have to fund a Eurozone bailout: The UK would be listed as a ‘participating state’ within the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, paving the way for the UK to once again have to contribute money to any Eurozone bailout. (The EU Civil Protection Mechanism was how we were forced into giving the Eurozone money in the aftermath of the 2008 economic crash) How can we leave the EU if, after Brexit, we are forced into a position where we may have to bail out the EU from their own economic messes in the future? 6. EU control over financial contributions: The Withdrawal Agreement stipulates the ECJ and the European Commission would be able to set the legal levels of the UK’s financial contributions to fund European bodies which the Agreement commits the UK to be part of - whether these are military, economic or humanitarian. In effect we would be handing the EU a blank cheque for any of their future vanity projects, whether we wish to be part of them – or not. 7. Fishing: The Withdrawal Agreement stipulates under Article 6 relating to fishing (“The Union and the United Kingdom shall use their best endeavours to conclude and ratify such an agreement before 1 July 2020”). This means there is no legal guarantee within the Withdrawal Agreement itself to secure fishing rights for the United Kingdom’s fishing industry. The mention of ‘best endeavours’ is not legally binding terminology. The Withdrawal Agreement essentially says the EU would continue to apply tariffs until a separate agreement is reached. There is no terminology in the Withdrawal Agreement which guarantees us the ability to ‘take back control of our waters’. Instead we would be open to blackmail by France and other EU Member States when we try to negotiate a broader trade deal, as they try to leverage trade against access to our lucrative fishing waters. We cannot allow our sovereign waters to be held hostage after Brexit! 8. Preferential treatment to migrants from inside the EU: The Withdrawal Agreement sets out, while ‘freedom of movement’ will end after Brexit, there is a goal to retain some preferential treatment towards EU citizens from the other 27 Member States - specifically in areas of education and work. Why should European citizens get better services and support than those who are well-qualified from the rest of the world. Also included in the Agreement - EU nationals within the UK will still be able to claim benefits on behalf of relatives within the EU, and then send this money home to their families outside of the UK – this is unacceptable. British welfare payments should help those who live within the UK. 9. Security Issues: The Withdrawal Agreement commits the UK to sharing sensitive intelligence data with the EU after Brexit, regardless of our desire or the advisability of doing so. This would include information we have obtained while collaborating with non-EU Member States and would endanger our position within the 5 EYES intelligence sharing community of America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. We have far superior links with these countries than we have with the EU. We cannot compromise our ongoing trusted arrangements with our most important allies. Beyond this, the Withdrawal Agreement also commits the UK to contribute towards funding and supplying our troops for any European Union military operations which occur in the coming years. I.E. we would be committing British Troops to potentially fight in combat in which the UK has no desire to become involved in – and this would potentially lead to them fighting against our own people! 10. Sharing of UK Citizens Personal Data: The UK commits to sharing the sensitive data of UK citizens with European databases in order to increase cooperation on a range of issues, including security and policing. However, the statements within the Withdrawal Agreement are vague, opening up a wide range of private data, such as bank details and more, being shared. Such a policy would also create a goldmine for potential hackers. How can British citizens trust a foreign power to look after their data after Brexit? 11. The Irish Backstop: The Irish Backstop is an unnecessary condition of Theresa May’s Deal, and one which would shackle the UK to the EU for an increased and potentially never-ending period of time. The Backstop is the fall-back position even though both the Irish and British Governments have ruled out the idea of erecting a Hard Border on Ireland. Goods are, and can continue to be, checked at source and already all agricultural goods are checked on the Irish Sea. The Backstop would divide the United Kingdom by subjugating Northern Ireland to the EU Customs Union and all the EU’s regulations, and seems to only be a mechanism to potentially tie us into the EU after Brexit. The DUP, which currently supports the Conservative Party in the House of Commons in a ‘confidence-and-supply agreement’, has ruled out supporting the Deal while it includes the Backstop in its current form. They have indicated they would support May’s Deal if the Backstop is removed, as they are wary of any non-legally-binding text - such as motions in Parliament. 12. UK tied to EU legal system: May’s Deal provides for extensive cooperation on a legal front, including being tied into the EU’s legal and judicial pillars, with operational activities and data exchange under EU rules.
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