After over two years of Brexit negotiations, the UK government approved the draft withdrawal agreement with the European Union on Wednesday 14th November 2018.
At Europe Analytica, we help our clients navigate both the challenges and the opportunities of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. Our dedicated Brexit team has been keeping them up to date on every development. To clear up some of the confusion around what this new deal means for the Brexit process, we have outlined the possible next steps. Under the presumption that the current government led by Prime Minister Theresa May will continue during the negotiations, the next important step on the ratification of the withdrawal agreement will take place on 25 November 2018 in Brussels..
The draft deal is set to be approved during a special EU summit and according to the EU officials’ declarations over the last week, there is unlikely to any problems on their side. After that, there is likely to be a vote in the UK’s parliament in December. This is a very important step in the process because as it will lead to two distinct situations.
A negative vote would mean that the UK government has 21 days to put forward a new plan and this would lead to one of four potential outcomes.
Leaving without a deal
Renegotiating the withdrawal agreement with the EU
Calling a new General Election
Calling a new referendum
A positive vote would mean that a Withdrawal Agreement Bill will be introduced to the UK parliament in early 2019. If it is rejected, it would lead to one of the same four outcomes above. If is approved, it would then need to pass through a vote in the European Parliament by a simple majority and gain the approval by the EU Council. To be approved by the Council it must be accepted by at least 20 of the other 27 EU states, representing 65% of the EU population. On the 29 March 2019, the UK will then leave the EU and the transition period would begin. This period is scheduled to last until December 2020 but it can be extended.
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If your organisation needs help dealing with the challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents, we can also provide services tailored to whatever you may need:
Providing you with careful analysis of Brexit’s short, medium and long-term impacts
Connecting you with relevant decision makers to help you influence the post-Brexit environment
Monitoring any relevant developments that will affect your organisation
Advising you on how you should prepare for what will come after Brexit
You can find our previous reports on Brexit here and listen to our Director Angela Mills Wade's take on Brexit below.