Northern Ireland and the Windsor Framework Sellout

 

by Louise Mclean

This is not a post that I particularly wanted to write because we are as far from achieving Brexit as ever and if anything, things have been getting worse.

On 27th February 2023, with much fanfare, Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, presented the Windsor Framework at Windsor Castle. This was with the blessing of King Charles, effectively using the Royal Prerogative, which avoided a vote in Parliament. 

The fact that the King endorsed the Windsor Framework, without a formal vote in Parliament and which subjugates Parliament to EU law, calls into question the delicate constitutional balance between the monarchy, Parliament and the People.  It compromises King Charles's position as head of state before he has even attended his formal coronation.

The Windsor Framework was their answer to dealing with the problems of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was agreed in 2019 as part of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement, with the aim of preventing a hard border between the North and South of Ireland.

As we know, although the United Kingdom had left the European Union on 31st January 2020, Northern Ireland had been left behind and was still subject to the decisions of the European Court of Justice.

The Windsor Framework was supposed to address the problem of trade but many Conservative MPs and especially the DUP Northern Irish MPs are unhappy and say that it does not solve it.

It is so complex by design, that practically no one except those who drafted it can understand it.

Our government has now agreed to implement a whole range of checks and controls for trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which had not been enforced yet, due to the current grace period.

On 22 March 2023, Parliament then voted for something called the Stormont Brake by 515 votes in favour and 29 against.  The Stormont Brake was implemented by Statutory Instrument to amend the Northern Ireland Act 1998. It is basically inserting Theresa May's  Back Stop, which was voted down three times by Parliament. 

Altogether 70 conservative MPs either voted against the Stormont Brake or abstained, which was an uncomfortable rebellion for Prime Minister Sunak, and all of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) voted against. The Labour Party voted it in, despite the fact there was barely time to read it beforehand! It is a critical part of the Windsor Framework, which in fact gives the EU a direct return to regulation of the entire UK from Brussels.

The whole thing is so complicated and devious in its creation, that I am at a loss to explain it fully!  All I can do is point to these three excellent articles by Caroline Bell, who sets everything out as clearly as possible.

https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.uk/the-windsor-framework-getting-brexit-undone/

https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.uk/the-windsor-framework-a-legal-and-democratic-sting/

https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.uk/the-stormont-brake-con-is-critical-for-the-imposition-of-direct-eu-rule-on-the-uk/

What it does seem to be is an affront to the people of Great Britain and a backdoor pathway to letting the EU regulate all of our trade and not just that of Northern Ireland. Perhaps this is being used as a way to get the UK back into the European Union and push the North and South of Ireland into a United Ireland.

Certainly Theresa May made sure by passing the EU Retained Law Bill, that despite Brexit, all EU law in Britain would be retained and very little of the thousands of regulations, if any, have been repealed since we officially left the EU in January 2020.

 

The extent of the legal shenanigans of the Rushi Sunak government and the EU, leave my head spinning!  It is all clearly designed to dupe MPs and the public into thinking a good solution has been found for Northern Ireland!  Rishi, as we know, is one of the young globalist leaders of the World Economic Forum and is no doubt following their instructions!

Another good article is here: https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-windsor-agreement-deserves-to-be-exiled/

More Roadblocks to Trade Deal with EU!

by Louise Mclean

At the conclusion of this last week of talks, David Frost issued a statement yesterday which reveals that the EU is still very much at odds with the UK's stance on a trade deal.

The UK has threatened to make public all the threats of the EU during the ongoing negotiations.

After the third negotiating round this year, both sides were downbeat about any progress being achieved and David Frost says that Britain will be publishing all its draft legal texts, so that EU member states and others can read them.

David Frost says the major obstacle is the EU's ideological insistence on creating 'novel and unbalanced proposals' for standards to comply with the EU's 'level playing field'.  David Frost said:  "The major obstacle is the EU's insistence on including a set of novel and unbalanced proposals on the so-called 'level playing field', which would bind this country to EU law or standards, or determine our domestic legal regimes, in a way that is unprecedented in Free Trade Agreements and not envisaged in the Political Declaration". 

The Bloc has demanded that Britain is tied to EU regulation on trade, fisheries, aviation, energy and that the European Court of Justice should oversee legal standards.  This includes products, e.g. pharmaceutical, entering the EU market from Britain.  It also includes tying Britain to EU state aid rules.

In addition, Mr. Frost said that the EU continues to insist on fisheries arrangements and access to UK fishing waters that is incompatible with our future status as an independent coastal state and which would be against the interests of the UK fishing industry. 

Michel Barnier still demands that the UK cannot have the 'best of both worlds', but all Britain wants is a similar Comprehensive Free Trade Deal to the ones the EU completed with Canada and Japan, which never included regulatory alignment!

Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen has threatened that the EU will sue Britain for not complying with EU freedom of movement rules.  A statement by the European Commission reads: 'UK national legislation limits the scope of beneficiaries of EU free movement law in the UK, as well as the possibilities for EU citizens and their family members to appeal administrative decisions restricting free movement rights'.

On our side, Michael Gove has been extremely concerned about the rights of Brits living in the EU.  He says that legislation protects European citizens in the UK but no such legislation appears to protect our UK citizens.

Gove says there is widespread disregard for the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement which says people should be allowed to remain in either the UK or EU after the transition but Britons applying for settled status to stay in Spain, France, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus, Austria and the Czech Republic have had problems.

UK citizens have sent alarming claims to the Government about their concerns regarding the application process,  In a letter to EU Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, Mr. Gove sets out a four point complaint, saying 'we take our Withdrawal Agreement obligations on citizens' rights very seriously'.

The UK has made available grants of £9 million to 57 community organisation to support vulnerable EU citizens but in contrast member states have not yet shared similar information and in some cases there seems to be none.

The next round of talks is due to begin on 1st June, whereupon a decision must be made by 30th June as to whether the transition period should be extended for a further two years past the end of December this year.  Boris Johnson has so far totally ruled out any extension.

As far as the Writer is concerned, it looks like the EU are trying to come up with every possible roadblock to prevent Britain untying itself from its shackles by 31st December 2020 and we should just leave on WTO terms as soon as possible.  I predict that the EU will make a trade deal impossible with its demands.

Will Brexit Talks be Delayed?

by Louise Mclean

Despite the UK being pretty clear on what it would like during the first round of talks last week, the EU has decided that Britain must 'make up its mind'!  Ursula von der Leyen has stated that Britain must play by the Single Market rules for access to it, or it will be more difficult for us to trade.

However Britain has emphatically said that it would like a Canadian style Free Trade Agreement, supplemented by other international agreements and appropriate governance arrangements. A spokesman for the government said we would not seek alignment with the EU in any way.  

He said there will be new processes that exporters and importers will have to comply with, whether we reach an agreement or not.  'Obviously this will create some friction and we will have to mitigate that, but we are firmly convinced that the benefits of having control of our own laws outweigh the costs'.

According to the Daily Telegraph the deal Britain wants is not really just a Canada deal but the best parts of all free trade agreements the EU has with other countries and it is unlikely the EU will agree to this without strings attached. For example, Britain would like a zero tariff, zero quotas deal but no other non-EU country have this, neither does Canada.

Boris Johnson's government plan to release its own full draft of the free trade agreement it wants, before the next round of planned talks in London on 18th to 20th March next week. This will make a change from always following the EU's lead and conducting talks in Brussels.  However, with the Corona virus in full panic mode, this may be delayed, though at the moment the talks are not cancelled.

Whether they are postponed or conducted via video link, Michael Gove, the Brexit supremo, is very confident that a deal will be struck, especially after reading lead negotiator, David Frost's report on the talks which were held last week.

Update 18.00: Talks between UK and EU next week will probably now be via video link.