Brexit: EU’s draft transitional arrangements – Aaron Nelson comments in LexisNexis

Draft wording for the transitional arrangements to be included in the UK/EU withdrawal agreement published by the European Commission reveals that the EU expects to have the power to suspend certain benefits for the UK during the Brexit transition phase following UK’s departure from the EU. This mechanism to suspend benefits, such as access to the single market, would only be invoked if the UK government changes its position after the transition has been agreed, and the agreed rules are deviated from. Senior associate at Lewis Silkin, Joanna Hunt, said that this ‘leaves the UK and our economy in a precarious position’. Lawyers from Bird and Bird, Mishcon de Reya LLP, Lewis Silkin, Hogan Lovells, Dechert LLP and Bircham Dyson Bell think that although it does leave the UK in a weaker negotiating position, the sanction is the ‘only feasible option’ for Brussels to take should the UK fail to comply with the post-Brexit transition rules.

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