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Brexit sovereignty plan set out in Great Repeal Bill Brexit: UK to set out plans to replace all EU laws
(about 3 hours later)
The government is due to set out how it plans to remove EU law from the statute book when it publishes details of its Great Repeal Bill later. Thousands of EU laws on everything from workers' rights to the environment are to be scrapped or replaced with UK equivalents in a new plan.
Having formally triggered Brexit, ministers are promising a "smooth and stable transition" with legislation ending the supremacy of EU judges. Details of the planned Great Repeal Bill are to be published shortly - the day after the UK officially began the two year process of leaving the EU.
It will also incorporate thousands of pieces of EU law into UK legislation. Ministers need to "copy and paste" EU laws into UK law to avoid a legal "black hole" when Brexit happens.
The publication comes the day after the UK started two years of talks using Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. It comes as ministers reject claims of a row with the EU over future security.
Prime Minister Theresa May described the invoking of Article 50 as a "historic moment from which there can be no turning back", saying Britain would now make its own decisions and its own laws. In her letter on Wednesday triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, Mrs May suggested cooperation with the EU on the fight against crime and terror was at risk if Britain did not agree an overall Brexit deal within the two year time limit.
She called for a "deep and special partnership that takes in both economic and security co-operation", and also warned the failure to reach a deal could weaken the joint fight against crime and terrorism. The prime minister's words sparked an angry reaction from some EU officials who said security was too important to be used as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations.
In response, Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, said he would not accept any attempt to "bargain" between trade and security. But Brexit Secretary David Davis told BBC Radio 4's Today programme "this is not a threat".
Asked if the PM's comments amounted to "blackmail", he replied: "I try to be a gentleman, so towards a lady I don't even use or think about the word 'blackmail'." "This is a statement of the fact that this will be harmful for both of us... if we don't get a deal. It's an argument for having a deal."
Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green told BBC Newsnight that Mrs May's statement was "not a threat", but a "sensible point to make" as new deals would be needed in a number of areas, including trade and security. He added: "We're after a fully comprehensive deal that covers trade, covers security, covers all the aspects of our existing relationship and tries to preserve as much of the benefits for everybody as we can."
Key to the pledge of a post-Brexit Britain in charge of its laws is the Great Repeal Bill, which ministers say is essential to avoid a "black hole" in the law when the UK leaves the EU. Mr Davis, who will be Britain's chief negotiator in Brussels, said the rights of British expats would the first priority in Brexit talks.
The UK Parliament can then "amend, repeal and improve" the laws as necessary, the government says. He said Britain had a "moral duty" to end the uncertainty facing Britons living in the EU - and EU citizens living in the UK - as it was not their fault that Britain had voted to leave.
However, it could prove controversial with plans to give ministers the power to make changes to some laws without full Parliamentary scrutiny. The UK also wanted "to deal with the Northern Ireland border situation early as well", he added.
The government says this will only be for "mechanical changes" to ensure laws function properly.
'A unique challenge''A unique challenge'
The Great Repeal Bill, which Theresa May has said will make the UK an "independent, sovereign nation", would:The Great Repeal Bill, which Theresa May has said will make the UK an "independent, sovereign nation", would:
Read more: A guide to the Great Repeal BillRead more: A guide to the Great Repeal Bill
Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty gives both sides two years to reach agreement so, unless the UK and the 27 remaining EU member states agree to extend the deadline for talks, the UK will leave on 29 March 2019. He said the "fear" that the EU would punish Britain for leaving, in order to deter other countries from going down the same route, "has reduced" although it had not disappeared altogether.
It was invoked through a six-page letter from Mrs May to EU Council president Donald Tusk, promising the UK would remain "committed partners and allies". But he admitted that Britain was in dispute with EU officials over its demand for parallel talks on the terms of Britain's exit and a deal on trade.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said: "At the heart of the referendum decision was sovereignty. A strong, independent country needs control of its own laws. That process starts now. The EU wants to sort out an exit deal - including how much the UK might have to pay to cover its "existing obligations" - before turning to a future trade arrangement but Mr Davis said Britain wanted to "look at the whole package together".
The government is to set out its plans to move all EU laws into UK law in a white paper set to be published at about 11:15 BST.
Over the past 44 years, thousands of rules and directives have been incorporated into British law from Brussels.
Under the Great Repeal Bill, the UK Parliament would be able to "amend, repeal and improve" the laws as necessary, the government says.
However, it could prove controversial with plans to give ministers the power to make changes to some laws without full Parliamentary scrutiny.
The government says this will only be for "mechanical changes" to ensure laws function properly and has promised a "smooth and stable transition".
Mr Davis said: "At the heart of the referendum decision was sovereignty. A strong, independent country needs control of its own laws. That process starts now.
"Converting EU law into UK law, and ending the supremacy of lawmakers in Brussels, is an important step in giving businesses, workers and consumers the certainty they need.""Converting EU law into UK law, and ending the supremacy of lawmakers in Brussels, is an important step in giving businesses, workers and consumers the certainty they need."
The TUC urged the government to ensure the repeal bill was used to maintain all existing EU workers' protections. Trade union group the TUC urged the government to ensure the repeal bill was used to maintain all existing EU workers' protections.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson admitted to popular "apprehension" over the outcome of a deal, but said Mrs May was "wise" to wait until now to set out her negotiating position. Labour's Jeremy Corbyn said his party would be holding the government to account "all the way through" the exit process, promising to "speak for the entire country".
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson admitted to public "apprehension" over the outcome of a deal, but said Mrs May was "wise" to wait until now to set out her negotiating position.
He wrote in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday that Britain would continue to be "one of the indispensable guarantors of peace and stability" in Europe.He wrote in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday that Britain would continue to be "one of the indispensable guarantors of peace and stability" in Europe.
He added that the government did not want "divorce" from the EU but a "transition to a new relationship".
Mr Tusk, who told the UK "we already miss you" as he received Mrs May's letter, is expected to set out the EU's draft negotiating principles in the coming days.
In a brief statement on Wednesday, he said it was not "a happy day" for him or for the EU and promised to begin arrangements for the UK's "orderly withdrawal".
The EU's formal negotiating position will be agreed only at a summit of the remaining 27 member states at the end of April, meaning face-to-face discussions are unlikely until May or early June.The EU's formal negotiating position will be agreed only at a summit of the remaining 27 member states at the end of April, meaning face-to-face discussions are unlikely until May or early June.
Early issues are likely to include the rights of expats in the UK and the rest of the EU, the size of any severance payment required of the UK and whether talks on a new trade deal can be handled at the same time as the Article 50 negotiations.
In a BBC interview after her Commons statement, Mrs May insisted the UK could keep "the same benefits" in terms of trade despite leaving the EU single market.
Labour's Jeremy Corbyn said his party would be holding the government to account "all the way through", promising to "speak for the entire country".
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