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⁉️ Why is the UK Signed up to This Brexit Clause⁉️

3,637 views · Published 17 February 2018 · 5:15 · Indexed 15 October 2026

Channel: Jeff Taylor · 2018 · News & Politics

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When the EU and UK negotiators issued their Joint report on 8th December 2017, there was one clause in it that did alarm me.

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Today I thought we'd turn the clock back a bit.

Back in December the EU and UK Brexit negotiators issued a joint report on which the UK exit from the EU was to be based. But one clause in there - that seems to have so far gone unremarked - leaves me very uneasy about its intent.

At the time much was made about how paragraphs 49 and 50 were a two step approach to ensuring that the UK was forced to abide by single market and customs union rules.

Paragraph 49 is part of the section on Ireland and Northern Ireland and commits the UK to protecting North-South co-operation saying:

"In the absence of agreed solutions, the United Kingdom will maintain full alignment with those rules of the Internal Market and the Customs Union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation, the all-island economy and the protection of the 1998 Agreement."

So the single market is protected in Northern Ireland. But the next paragraph  commits the UK to ensuring no regulatory barriers exist between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
"In all circumstances, the United Kingdom will continue to ensure the same unfettered access for Northern Ireland's businesses to the whole of the United Kingdom internal market." says paragraph 50.

So you can see that if a deal is reached, this becomes part of that deal and we are tied into the single market across the whole of the UK under this two-step legal process.

This was talked about across the media at the time. But what worries me more is the next paragraph, paragraph 51, which attracted just about zero attention.

Paragraph 51 ties the UK into helping the EU to protect the EU single Market and Customs Union. As I said at the time, it is a one-way deal - with no reciprocity. The EU has no commitment to the UK in this at all.

The full text of the paragraph is:

"Both Parties will establish mechanisms to ensure the implementation and oversight of any specific arrangement to safeguard the integrity of the EU Internal Market and the Customs Union."

Now, I'm hoping that someone can allay my fears, but that sounds like an attempt to ensure that the UK is jointly responsible with the EU for putting up any hard border or other barrier, if the EU decides it needs one to protect its precious single market.

As far as I can see it hamstrings the UK into close alignment with the single market as, without that clause the UK could say to the EU, put up a wall if you like but that's your doing, nothing to do with us. But with this clause in place, should the EU change its internal rules and we don't follow, they might want to put up barriers across the internal Irish border and we will have to help them do it! With all the Good Friday Agreement political ramifications it brings with it.

In fact just the threat that a barrier was needed would be enough to force the UK to comply with new single market rules, as the fall-out from the UK being seen to help build a border would be unthinkable.

So, when you take all three paragraphs together, for me it's all several steps too far and leaves the UK legally shackled to the EU single market and customs union.

I do so hope I am wrong, but I fear that if we do sign an agreement based on this, then we will have painted ourselves right into a corner!

I've left a link to the joint report in the description box below. Please do go and check it out for yourself, then tell us what you make of it. Thank you.


Sources:

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/joint_report.pdf

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/919535/gibraltar-strategic-military-base-royal-navy-mod-london-brexit-mediterranean-foothold

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