The EU is reportedly demanding guarantees the UK will compensate the bloc if a future government reneges on the Brexit “reset” agreement Keir Starmer is currently negotiating.
The termination clause is a stark reminder of the painful and costly divorce in which the EU set up a colossal €5.4bn (£4.7bn) fund to help its member states cope with the disruption caused by the UK’s exit in 2020.
According to the Financial Times, a draft text of an agreement on agriculture trade, aimed at removing post-Brexit checks on farm produce, calls for any party pulling out of the agreement to cover the cost of reinstating border and infrastructure controls in the future.
Nicknamed the “Farage clause” by EU diplomats, it is seen in some quarters as a means of ensuring the bloc is not left out of pocket should the Reform leader win a general election and make real his threat to cancel any UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.
However, UK sources dismissed this notion, saying such a clause was routine in international deals and was written “to work both ways”, and would therefore also force the EU to compensate the UK if it backed out of the deal in future.
Makes sense. Take precautions, minimise damage.
That’s par for the course. Has the guardian never taken part in any agreement ever?
It wasn’t in the previous agreement so I guess it’s not as common as you think.
There’s no way you haven’t heard of article 50 if you lived in the UK between 2016 and 2020
Article 50
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Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.
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A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention. In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union. That agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with Article 218(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It shall be concluded on behalf of the Union by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament.
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The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period.
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For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3, the member of the European Council or of the Council representing the withdrawing Member State shall not participate in the discussions of the European Council or Council or in decisions concerning it.
A qualified majority shall be defined in accordance with Article 238(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
- If a State which has withdrawn from the Union asks to rejoin, its request shall be subject to the procedure referred to in Article 49.
There’s nothing about paying for the reinstatement of border controls. If I remember correctly EU wanted UK to pay whatever they agreed to pay into the budget before brexit and it was all part of the negotiations.
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