(Master of the Eneid Legend – Greek soldiers hide into the Trojan horse. Paris, Louvre)
The 585 pages of the Withdrawal Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom are available online (see here). The Articles in it about the process of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU over the transition period expose it as a deceptively named document, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Articles 164 to 169 in the Agreement set up a Joint Committee with complete power over every aspect of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU over the transition period. With members from the EU & UK this Joint Committee will overrule the British government, because as clause 2 of Article 166 says, its decisions will be “binding” on the EU & UK. As the process of withdrawal will involve most things that matter, this unelected Joint Committee will be the real government of the UK in the transition period.
Clause 10 in Annex VIII to the Agreement says that the proceedings of this unaccountable Joint Committee will be “confidential”, in other words secret. The Agreement says that this secretive Joint Committee will be ruling over Britain from the start of the transition period at the end of March 2019.
Clause 5 of Article 128 in the Withdrawal Agreement says that in the transition period any British representatives on EU governing bodies will have no voting rights. Then no British minister turning up in the EU Council of Ministers will be able to veto EU laws that damage Britain. Britain will be subject to taxation without representation, and much worse.
Article 132 says that the dictatorial Joint Committee can, before 1st July 2020, extend the transition period “until 31st December 20XX”. At first the transition period will only be until the end of 2020, as Article 126 says. But the EU members of this Joint Committee could suggest before July 2020 that the transition period should be extended until 31st December 2099.
If the UK members of the Joint Committee dispute that, then that dispute must be referred to the Arbitration Panel set up in Article 168, as this Panel has the exclusive power to resolve disputes arising on the Joint Committee.
But Article 174 says that the Arbitration Panel must request a ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU on any disputed “question of interpretation of a concept of Union law” within the Panel. The legal rulings of the Court are to be binding on the Arbitration Panel as the Court, not the Panel, is the supreme interpreter of EU law.
The Court of Justice of the EU has a constitutional duty to work towards the “ever closer union of the peoples of Europe”. And the EU members on the Arbitration Panel could request the Court’s ruling on whether the spirit of EU law would wish to extend the UK’s transition period until 31st December 2099.
The UK side of the Arbitration Panel may oppose the extension of the transition period until 31st December 2099. Whose side will the Court of Justice take? The UK’s side of the Panel, or the EU’s? This is when we will find out that as the Court has the last word in disputes between the EU & UK sides on the Joint Committee, the UK side were only ever there as window dressing. Given its constitutional duty, the Court will take the EU’s side, and extend the transition period until 31st December 2099.
So the Withdrawal Agreement will enable the EU to keep Britain captive as its colony for more than eighty years until the end of this century. The misnamed Withdrawal Agreement is the EU’s legal instrument for subjecting the British people to colonial rule until the end of 2099, in response to their rebellion in the Referendum of the 23rd June 2016.
Back in 1972 our MPs in the House of Commons voted by a majority of eight votes to pass the European Communities Bill and to capitulate to rule by the European Commission. In 2019 they will need only a majority of one vote to eventually pass the misnamed Withdrawal Agreement to capitulate again.
Jake Bennett is right, the enemy is within. Three quarters of the MPs in the House of Commons campaigned for Remain in the EU Referendum campaign. That means that they wanted to remain in a pseudo – democracy where they passed off the policies of secretive unelected bureaucrats on the EU Commission as their own. It was so much easier than thinking for themselves, freedom means making your own decisions and thinking for yourself. That is why many people are afraid of freedom, it is too much for them to cope with. Most of our politicians are like those people who cannot cope with the freedom outside after a long time in prison, they long to go back inside.
Problem with the so called Withdrawal agreement is that its not worth the name. Of course I did not read 600 pages. But Thanks to the author of that article to have done it. And today for the first time on UKIPdaily or Independecedaily I understand that its 99 years for the EU and the EU court in Luxembourg to decide. I posted sometimes comments on this site UKIPdaily. In 2016 I tweeted during refendum time. My obersvation is that UKIP the Brexit folks and their web sites do NOT stress that fact that trade and export to the EU are NOT important its ONLY 5% net of UK GDP that number it is not on the Brexit websites and the articles sad and again on BrexitCentral today articles (https://brexitcentral.com/leaving-eu-no-deal-not-step-legal-vacuum/ ) its not there just WTO terms but the 5% is missing. Same story on the number of EU people working I say working in the UK = 3 Mio The number of Brits LIVING in the EU is 1 Mio probaly less and working not even 0,5 Mio because of many UK pensioners in Spain and students and housewifes AND rich Brits. These few numbers are missing in the two years and regret to have seen no desire by anybody in Britain to push that message. Please read my article which wrote for 3 hours last Friday before the Brexit vote JUST TO HIGHLIGSHT THESE FEW NUMBERS brexit2019.blogspot.com/2019/01/confusion-whatever-comes-after-brexit.html?spref=tw …
The EU are looking to their own political/ideological interests safeguarding their interests. The EU do not seek to ‘con’ the British government they are going along with this lousy deal willingly as they simply do not want to leave the EU. They personally feel secure in the framework of the EU.
The politcal class are dreading self-government. Brexit may hail the end of career politics for them. The smooth progression of a lifetime in politics is all of a sudden going to become more hazardous. Many of them know they are not up to this kind of challenge and will fight Brexit tooth and nail.
The enemy is within.
It is amazing that May thinks she can pass the WA off as leaving the EU. I guess she relies on people taking her at her word (despite her constant lying) or are simply fed up of the overly long process and just want it to end.
Whatever it takes we must do everything and anything necessary to recover our democracy; not just for our own interests but for our living descendants and those native Brits yet to be born.
Totally agree Jack, if this is a British Coup as some in the media are saying, it needs challenging and it won’t have a pretty ending, these people are doing just as they want, but if law and precedent in parliament and government are to change, then the second chamber and the monarchy will also be affected. In the short and long term this could have very dangerous consequences.
Our democracy has been seriously sick since the European Communities Bill passed through the House of Commons by eight votes in 1972. Since then our elected governments have been passing off the policies of unelected bureaucrats in Brussels as their own.
But now the Withdrawal Agreement will withdraw any pretence of democracy in Britain as it imposes direct rule from Brussels through the Joint Committee. The Joint Committee will be a dictatorial Junta (Article 166 clause 2) which will be beyond public scrutiny (Annex 8 clause 10). Its personnel, as well as its proceedings, are likely to be secret.
The EU hierarchy have decided to impose direct rule on Britain through the Joint Committee in response to the rebellion of the British people on the 23rd June 2016. Their host of agents in British public life have been working to reverse the Referendum result. The Referendum was the Revolution, the Withdrawal Agreement will be the Counter Revolution.
Can I send a copy of this Article to my MP?
Hi Kim –
of course you can, provided you say where it was published.
In all humility I suggest though that you wait until my “Daily Brexit” column is out (around 10 am) where this point is also raised. The you an send the links/the text out at the same time.