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05 February 2018 EU27 develops its approach to post-Brexit arrangements On 29 January 2018, the European Union (EU) 27 Member States (EU27) agreed on their negotiating guidelines for the terms of a transitional period after the United Kingdom (UK) leaves the EU on 29 March 2019. This was followed on 1 February by the release of a presentation given by the European Commission to an EU27 working party on establishing a "level playing field" in the long-term dealings between the EU and the UK. The presentation, covering State aid, tax, environmental issues and employment law gives an indication on how negotiations might develop, assuming that the terms of any transitional period are agreed. The release of updated negotiating guidelines for Brexit, follows the announcement on 15 December 2017, which welcomed the progress achieved during the first phase of the negotiations and agreed that it was sufficient to move to the second phase of negotiations relating to transition and the framework for the future relationship. The updated guidelines, which supplement the negotiating directive annexed to the Council Decision of 22 May 2017, primarily deal with the EU's negotiating position in relation to the transition period.
Following the publication of the guidelines, Michel Barnier, the EU chief negotiator, confirmed that the UK would be free to initiate negotiations with third countries, but not to implement any agreements during the transition period without the agreement of the EU27. With regard to the application of agreements during the transition period, he said that while it is possible for the EU27 and the UK to agree that the UK will remain bound by the obligations stemming from all existing EU international agreements, for instance those for trade and aviation, it is not possible to ensure in an Article 50 agreement that the UK keeps the benefits of these international agreements, as this will depend on the other third countries party to those agreements. The European Commission has released a copy of an internal presentation it gave to the Council Working Party (Article 50) on 25 January 2018. The presentation makes it clear that these are preparatory discussions and that the contents are without prejudice to discussions on the framework of the future relationship. Nevertheless the slides are interesting in highlighting some of the issues for the EU27 in creating what the Commission refers to a "level playing field" in trade negotiations with the UK. This phrase is taken from the European Council's guidelines of April 2017 which say: "A level playing field must be ensured, notably in terms of competition and state aid, and in this regard encompass safeguards against unfair competitive advantages through, inter alia, tax; social, environmental and regulatory measures and practices." The presentation recognizes the special factors associated with the trading relationship between the UK and the EU, notably the depth and breadth of the EU-UK economic integration and the geographic proximity of the UK to the rest of the EU. In this context, the presentation looks to focus on the policy areas that are most relevant for a level playing field and identify in each area the key components needed. Ultimately it suggests building up an effective system, based on three interlinked pillars:
In relation to State aid, it seems that the Commission does not consider that the default World Trade Organization (WTO) provisions would adequately protect trade relationships, taking into account the strong mutual reliance between the UK and the EU. The presentation suggests that while the WTO system of subsidy control would apply, that is limited to goods and damage to trade would have to be demonstrated. Remedies, it is suggested, are limited.
The presentation notes that after withdrawal from the EU, there will no longer be a legal requirement for the UK to exchange information with EU Member States on tax matters (and vice-versa), there will be no legal obligation for the UK to apply the EU's anti-tax avoidance provisions, the UK's political commitment to the Code of Conduct covering no standstill/roll-back of harmful tax regimes will end and the EU Corporate Tax Directives will cease to apply to the UK. The Commission suggests that there are risks to the EU27 but these depend on yet undefined future UK tax policy. It suggests that post-Brexit the UK is likely to use tax to gain competiveness and indeed United States tax reform could increase the pressure on UK to do this. The key risk the Commission sees is targeted UK tax measures to attract investment and business. Following the principle of non-lowering of existing standards, and recognizing that the EU has its own unilateral listing process for uncooperative tax jurisdiction, the presentation suggests the following steps:
The Commission would monitor the application of any legally binding requirements by the UK and the EU Code of Conduct Group would monitor the political commitments. Dispute resolution and sanction measures would be aligned to the wider procedures of the Agreement. The Commission sees the risk that the UK can decide its position on environmental protection against a background in which it is aiming to increase competitiveness as potentially imposing costs on EU citizens and companies. The Commission suggests strengthening multilateral governance and standards rather than introducing parallel bilateral rules. It suggests avoiding a "race to the bottom" through selectively weakening domestic environment protection through the use of a "non-regression" clause. The Commission suggests a reduction by the UK in labor and social protection may put EU workers' rights under strain and undermine Europe as an area of high social protection. The approach suggested here follows that suggested for environmental standards. The next series of meetings are scheduled to commence on 6 February 2018 and are due to cover transitional arrangements as well as further discussions on the Withdrawal Agreement, along with the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. Businesses are already preparing for what they need to do in order to be ready and will be watching closely the progress of the transitional negotiations and the position adopted by the UK Government on the transition period and any future trade agreement. While the shape of any future trade agreement may start to be outlined over the coming months, clarity around the outcome of the complex trade negotiations may not be forthcoming for a while longer. Waiting until the end of the negotiation period may not leave enough time to take measured action before rules and trading arrangements change.
Document ID: 2018-5246 |
