UK outlines approach to cross-border rows

List of proposals post-Brexit expands

LONDON, Aug 22, (Agencies): Britain urged the EU on Tuesday to stick to the existing system for resolving cross-border civil disputes after Brexit, expanding on a list of proposals for future ties to try to nudge talks forward with the bloc.

In the third of five papers to be published this week, 0the government outlined how it wanted to maintain close cooperation with the European Union in tackling disputes ranging from marital cases to challenges by small businesses against EU suppliers.

The proposals followed a pattern in which Britain has sought to mirror much of its existing relationship with the EU.

But in this case the government repeated its desire to dispense with the “direct jurisdiction” of the EU’s court.

“International civil judicial cooperation is in the mutual interest of consumers, citizens, families and businesses in the EU and in the UK,” the government said in its latest “future partnership paper”.

“That framework would be on a reciprocal basis, which would mirror closely the current EU system and would provide a clear legal basis to support cross-border activities, after the UK’s withdrawal.”

Systems

The government hopes that by basing an agreement on many of the systems already in place, it can push forward the negotiations to unravel more than 40 years of union.

Meanwhile, the court of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) could present a way-out for Britain as it seeks a new authority to arbitrate in disputes after it leaves the European Union, the president of the court said on Monday.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, says Britain should continue to fall under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for solving any disputes during the transitional phase after March 2019.

But Britain’s Conservative government,

which regards the ECJ as intrusive, has called ECJ jurisdiction an EU “obsession” that is not be acceptable and wants an alternative.

In related news, the head of devolved governments in Scotland and Wales was to meet on Tuesday to try to set a common strategy to protect parliamentary powers which they say are under threat from Britain’s plan to leave the European Union.

Wales and Scotland plan to reject legislation which severs Britain’s legal ties with the European Union, once known as the Great Repeal Bill, when it is brought before the devolved chambers in Cardiff and Edinburgh.

In related developments, uncertainty over the status of flights between Britain and the European Union once the UK leaves the bloc could cause a huge slump in air travel from Britain’s airports, Sky News said on Tuesday, citing an industry report.

The report says that in the most pessimistic scenario, there could be a 41 percent fall in passenger demand from Britain’s biggest airports between March 2018 and March 2019.

Sky said that the confidential report, which the government has received from Heathrow, Europe’s biggest airport, Gatwick, London City, Manchester and Stansted airports, urges Britain to seek an interim aviation arrangement by October 2018.

Meanwhile, British goods placed on the market before Brexit should be sold in EU countries under current conditions even after the UK leaves the bloc, the British government said on Monday.

The government also emphasised that current negotiations about the divorce are “inextricably” linked to future trade arrangements and should therefore be discussed at the same time.

In a paper ahead of the next round of UK-EU talks next week, the government said: “We want to ensure that goods which are placed on the market before exit day can continue to be sold in the UK and EU, without any additional requirements or restrictions.

“This means that where products have gone through an authorisation process prior to exit, for example a type approval for a car, this approval should remain valid in both markets after exit,” it said.

Britain’s Brexit minister David Davis said setting out the proposals “will help give businesses and consumers certainty and confidence in the UK’s status as an economic powerhouse” following Britain’s departure.

“It is clear that our separation from the EU and future relationship are inextricably linked,” he said.

But there was a cool response from Brussels.