Overview

This bill concerns amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill. The House of Lords proposed several amendments, all of which were rejected by the House of Commons. These amendments related to citizens' rights post-Brexit, the handling of future legal disagreements with the European Court of Justice, and the government's negotiating position with the EU.

Description

The bill focuses on disagreements between the House of Lords and the House of Commons regarding amendments to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. Key areas of contention included:

Citizens' Rights:

The Lords sought to ensure the implementation of provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement relating to residence documents for EU citizens residing in the UK. The Commons rejected this, citing potential increased public spending.

Judicial Independence:

The Lords proposed amendments to address how UK courts would handle cases potentially conflicting with European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings post-Brexit. The Commons disagreed with the proposed mechanisms.

Government Negotiating Objectives:

The Lords attempted to codify the government's negotiating objectives in the bill itself. The Commons rejected this amendment.

Devolved Powers:

A Lords amendment attempted to clarify the application of conventions regarding devolved powers, this was also rejected by the Commons.

Government Spending

The Commons rejected at least one Lords amendment (regarding citizens' rights) specifically because it would involve a charge on public funds, although no precise figures were given.

Groups Affected

Groups potentially affected include:

• EU citizens residing in the UK: The amendments concerning residence documents directly affect their rights and access to official documentation.
• UK courts: The amendments concerning judicial independence would significantly impact their procedures for handling cases involving ECJ rulings.
• UK Government: The rejected amendments would have potentially impacted government spending and its approach to post-Brexit negotiations with the EU.

Powered by nyModel