Committee writes to DExEU Minister expressing concern over no deal preparations
16 January 2019
The House of Lords European Union Committee has written to Department for Exiting the European Union Minister Chris Heaton-Harris MP highlighting concerns over the Government's no deal planning and casting doubt on the possibility of a 'managed no deal.'
- 16 January 2019 - Letter to Chris Heaton-Harris MP ref no deal preparations (pdf 108KB)
- European Union Committee
Background
The Committee's letter follows its scrutiny of the Government and European Commission papers setting out their planning for a no deal Brexit. In light of the continued political impasse in the House of Commons, the Committee expresses surprise that the Minister continues to assert that no deal is an unlikely event and asks Mr Heaton Harris to explain the basis for his confidence.
The Committee asks the Minister whether a 'managed no deal', as advocated by some members of the Government, must now be ruled out as the European Commission has made clear it views no deal preparation as a series of individual unilateral measures rather than a bilateral agreement between the UK and the EU.
The Committee also asks how the Government will attempt to persuade the European Commission to move to working collectively with the UK on no deal planning rather than taking forward preparations separately.
The Committee finally asks the Government to clarify the implications for Gibraltar of the Commission's announcement that its no deal preparations will not apply in that case.
Further information
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