Thomas Colson

The European Court of Justice ruled on Monday that that Article 50 — the legal mechanism which kickstarted Brexit — allows the unilateral revocation of the UK's intention to withdraw from the EU.

That means the possibility of revoking Article 50 would continue to exist until the Article 50 process has formally concluded, which is scheduled for March next year.

The court case was referred to the ECJ by Edinburgh's Court of Session in September after a legal case was brought by a group of anti-Brexit Scottish politicians and lawyer Jo Maugham QC. The Advocate General's opinion is non-binding, and ECJ judges will hand down the final ruling separately. In previous cases, however, the final rulings have often though not always reflected the Advocate General's initial opinion.

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LONDON — The UK has the power to unilaterally reverse Brexit, the EU's highest court has ruled.

The UK can unilaterally reverse Brexit, rules EU court

LONDON — Theresa May has failed to spell out what Britain's future will look like after Brexit, with her deal with the EU representing a "huge step into the unknown," according to a damning verdict from a cross-party committee of MPs.

The Committee on Exiting the European Union's report published on Sunday said the government had "failed to make fundamental choices about the UK's future" and to assess the trade-offs that would result.

The stark warning comes just two days before Theresa May puts her much-criticised Brexit deal before parliament.

Her proposals have been roundly criticised from almost every wing of the House of Commons: Brexiteers believe the deal would bind the UK too closely to the EU, while Remainers have suggested it would leave the UK in a state of vassalage with little upside compared to EU membership.

<ul><li> After twenty months of negotiations, the government does not have detailed plans the nature of Britain's future relationship with the EU. </li><li> The political declaration — the document contained in Theresa May's proposed Brexit deal which sets out the UK and EU's plans for their future relationship — is "neither detailed nor substantive," and only sets out a series of options, meaning businesses would continue to face "significant uncertainty" about the terms of trade with the EU when the transition period ends. </li><li> There are no realistic, long-term proposals from the Government to keep an open border on the island of Ireland without leaving the EU single market and customs union — something Theresa May has repeatedly pledged to do. </li><li> The deeply unpopular backstop mechanism — an insurance policy designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland which would see the UK effectively remain within the EU's customs territory — would therefore be the default relationship between the UK and EU when the transition period ended. </li><li> The backstop would result in "immediate barriers" to UK-EU trade in goods and services. By 2022, the latest point at which the transition period could end — the UK could face the threat of "significant economic disruption" which would reduce its leverage in the negotiations. </li></ul>

<h1> This could take years to sort out </h1>

Labour MP Hillary Benn, chair of the Brexit committee, said the political declaration fell "far short" of the "detailed and substantive" document promised by former Brexit ministers and by the EU.

"It is because the Government has refused to face up to the hard choices confronting us that this deal would represent a huge step into the unknown," he said.

“The Political Declaration falls far short of the ‘detailed and substantive’ document promised by former Secretaries of State and by the EU Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier.

"It does not give the British people or our businesses the clarity and the certainty they need about our future trading relationship with the EU in five or ten years’ time. And with these negotiations having not even having started yet, this could take years to sort out."

Parliament appears highly likely to reject May's proposed deal when it is put to a vote on Tuesday evening, with all opposition parties resolved to vote against it along with a large number of Tory MPs.

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SEE ALSO: There is a 'real danger' the UK's security will be put at risk by Theresa May's Brexit deal

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street, London

Theresa May's Brexit deal is a worrying 'step into the unknown' say MPs

LONDON — It will be "near-impossible" for Theresa May to agree a security treaty with the EU by the time Britain leaves, meaning there is now a "real danger" the UK's security will be damaged, MPs have warned,

The Home Affairs committee of MPs warned that the political declaration which forms part of May's proposed deal is "seriously lacking" in detail on security, customs and border arrangements.

"The political declaration is seriously lacking in detail and provides insufficient clarity about both the future security partnership and future arrangements at the border," the report states.

It adds: "There is a real danger that the UK’s position will be weakened in the future partnership."

While the withdrawal agreement which covers UK-EU divorce issues like budget payments and EU citizens' rights is highly detailed, the political declaration on the future relationship is vaguer and not legally binding, leading to concerns that key issues like security have been overlooked.

In particular, MPs highlighted the fact that May had secured no long-term access to criminal databases after the UK exits the EU. It said the loss of such capabilities would make the country less safe. Member states rely heavily upon EU information-sharing agencies such as Europol, the Schengen Information System, and the European Arrest Warrant to enforce domestic security and policing arrangements.

The committee also said there was a "significant risk" that the planned transition — which would end in December 2020 — will expire before the UK agrees new security arrangements with the EU, leaving a dangerous window in which the UK's security was weakened.

While May's proposed deal contains a so-called "backstop" emergency measure to avoid the emergence of a hard border on the island of Ireland, there is no similar provision for security arrangements.

Based on the evidence it received from Home Office officials and others, the report concludes that it would be "near-impossible" to get a full new security treaty in place before December 2020, especially because the deal would need to be fully ratified by all 27 EU member states.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper, chair of the committee, told Theresa May's government to stop being "complacent" and said that its plans for future security cooperation with the EU should be laid clearly before parliament.

"We are worried about the prospect of a security downgrade as a result of this deal," said Cooper.

"It doesn’t include the key criminal databases that the police and border force check 500 million times a year to keep us safe.

"Nor is there a security backstop to make sure that the transition arrangements don’t run out before a new security treaty can be implemented.

"The Government isn’t being open about the implications of this deal. Continued police and security cooperation is in everyone’s interest, but there is far too much complacency," she said.

The warning comes as ministers head out to the UK regions to sell Theresa May's Brexit plan, with Tuesday's crunch vote approaching. The deal still appears very likely to be rejected by parliament, with over 100 MPs so far having publicly opposed the deal.

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Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May attends a news conference after an extraordinary EU leaders summit to finalise and formalise the Brexit agreement in Brussels, Belgium November 25, 2018

There is a 'real danger' the UK's security will be put at risk by Theresa May's Brexit deal

LONDON — The government has published the full legal advice it was given on Theresa May's Brexit plan after MPs found the government to be in contempt of parliament for refusing to do so.

The advice, from Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, the country's top law officer, examines the details of the Withdrawal Agreement, which covers the terms of Britain's divorce from the EU.

<ul><li> Cox warns that the deeply unpopular "backstop" arrangement contained within the withdrawal agreement would "endure indefinitely," a phrase which has enraged Brexiteers who believe the mechanism is a ploy to keep the UK bound to the EU. </li><li> It confirms the government does not have the right to withdraw from the backstop unilaterally, something Brexiteers have advocated. </li><li> There is a legal risk that UK could become stuck in "protracted and repeating rounds of negotiations" with Brussels. </li><li> The date on the Attorney General's advice is 13 November, the same day MPs asked for the advice to be published. This could mean that the government had not actually received any formal legal advice on the Withdrawal Agreement before, despite May publishing her formal Brexit plan weeks earlier. </li></ul>

The government had refused previous requests to publish the advice, just a week before MPs vote on the deal itself, saying it would set a dangerous precedent if the Attorney General could not provide the Prime Minister with honest, confidential legal advice without fear of it being made public.

Cox instead published a 48-page legal commentary outlining the advice he had provided on the Brexit plan and was grilled by MPs in the Commons for two hours on the subject on Monday.

But MPs voted 311 to 293 to find May's government in contempt on Tuesday afternoon, forcing Downing Street to publish the advice in full. It was the first time in British parliamentary history the government has been found in contempt by MPs.

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SEE ALSO: What is the Norway model?

Here's the Brexit deal legal advice Theresa May tried to withhold from parliament

LONDON — The law chief of the EU's highest court has advised that the UK should unilaterally be able to reverse Brexit in what could prove to be a landmark legal case.

On Tuesday, the European Court of Justice's Advocate General Campos Sanchez-Bordona <a id="19414abc-c96f-36e6-aa06-2ead63d53a66" href="https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2018-12/cp180187en.pdf"> proposed </a> that the ECJ should declare that Article 50 — the legal mechanism which kickstarted Brexit — allows the "unilateral revocation" of the UK's intention to withdraw from the EU.

He said that the possibility of revoking Article 50 would continue to exist until the Article 50 process has formally concluded, which is scheduled for March next year.

In a statement, Maugham said: "The decision is one that the UK can make unilaterally — without needing the consent of other member states. That puts the decision about our future back into the hands of our own elected representatives — where it belongs."

The court case argues that Article 50, which triggered the UK's EU withdrawal process in March 2017, can be revoked without the agreement of the other 27 European member states.

Handing May's government the unilateral power to reverse Article 50 would allow the UK to retain the perks of its current membership including the economic rebate that Margaret Thatcher negotiated in 1984 and the UK's opt-out from the Euro. These would potentially be lost were Britain forced to seek the approval of the rest of the EU to reverse Brexit.

Gunther Oettinger, the EU's Budget Commissioner has previously stated that under those circumstances "the gradual exit from the rebate would still be kept."

Jolyon Maugham told BI in October that having the power to unilaterally reverse Brexit "sweetens the option of remaining" for the UK government.

"Plainly it is better for the country if we can unilaterally revoke the Article 50 notice," Maugham added. "In that circumstance, we know that we could treat Brexit as though it was all just a bad dream."

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, has previously said that the EU27 would need to provide their consent to reverse the Brexit process. In that scenario, should the government seek in future to remain in the EU, it could lose the perks of membership it currently enjoys.

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Theresa May has the power to unilaterally reverse Brexit says EU's law chief

LONDON — Theresa May has finally announced the date of the "meaningful vote" on Brexit, the momentous day in Parliament when MPs will approve or reject the deal she has spent the last two years negotiating in Brussels.

<h1> Heres what is set to happen next. </h1>

1. The government <a id="979b52f0-6c8e-3879-a28d-5adae2af6bd8" href="https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1067856916771192833"> this week published </a> a business motion confirming the timetable for the debate on the Withdrawal Agreement. This motion is expected to pass without too many complications.

2. Assuming the business motion passes, MPs will begin a marathon five-day debate on the Withdrawal Agreement on Tuesday 4 December. Expect lots of Conservative MPs to stand up and say they don't think May's deal is very good. Expect even more Labour MPs to say the same. Expect Jeremy Corbyn to call for a general election.

3. The five-day debate will conclude on Tuesday 11 December. The Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow will then decide which amendments MPs can table to the main motion.

This is crucial: MPs will be able to table amendments to the motion. May's team had previously indicated they would try to prevent this from happening, but they have now accepted doing to would be too difficult. This week a group of cross-party MPs led by Labour's Hilary Benn <a id="08f8cf03-e7f7-34e5-a285-938d14990ca2" href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/pro-eu-mps-hilary-benn-table-key-brexit-amendment-to-theresa-may-deal-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> put down an amendment </a> which would give MPs the power to say what steps the UK government should take if May's deal can't get through Parliament. Possible next steps include extending negotiations, a softer Brexit, or holding another referendum. Labour's Shadow Brexit Secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, <a id="7b80b8a4-48ee-3c7f-acff-bb5587d28b88" href="https://twitter.com/labourwhips/status/1067913806997786630"> has tabled one of his own </a> which rejects May's deal and seeks to block a no deal Brexit. You can also expect amendments calling for a second referendum and for the UK to seek permanent customs union membership.

This is also crucial: There probably isn't a parliamentary majority for most of the amendments. One senior Tory MP with intimate knowledge of the meaningful vote process told Business Insider they believed there simply wasn't a parliamentary majority for any major amendment, like a second referendum, if it is tabled. Parliament is too divided.

"Whether there are amendments tabled is a matter for the house, and I'm by no means convinced there will be," the MP said. "The likelihood of there being an amendment that commands a majority in the Commons is small."

However, the amendment tabled by Benn this week has attracted strong cross-party support, including the support of the Labour leader Corbyn, and will likely be backed by a number of pro-EU Conservative MPs.

4. On December 11, the debate will wrap up and voting will commence. First, MPs will vote on any amendments to the motion. Then, they will vote on the motion itself. The motion will likely ask MPs to approve three things: a statement that an agreement has been reached, the withdrawal agreement, and the declaration on the future relationship.

That is the big moment: The crunch vote which the prime minister is expected to lose.

A different way of asking that question is: How meaningful is the meaningful vote?

Well, it's meaningful in the sense that MPs will have five days to debate the contents of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration (the 26-page text outlining the shape of the future UK-EU relationship.) It is meaningful in the sense that MPs have to give parliamentary consent before May can enact her Brexit deal into legislation.

The vote is not meaningful in the sense that as things stand, MPs won't be able to substantially change the deal.

They can't table amendments demanding, for example, that May remove the backstop from the deal (there isn't a parliamentary majority for doing so anyway). And while there is more wiggle room for MPs to try and table amendments on the UK's future relationship with the EU, it's very unlikely any such major amendment would pass. May could even see her hand strengthened if she can prove that amendments on alternative Brexit plans don't command a majority in the house.

If May wins? Legislation will be laid to put the Withdrawal Agreement into law very quickly. The UK would leave the EU on March 29, 2019. It's very unlikely.

If May loses? Chaos. Depending on the size of her defeat, May could feel compelled to resign. <a id="bfb5d26b-2360-35bb-a75e-864fe7d4c858" href="https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2018/11/our-estimate-of-how-many-conservative-mps-oppose-the-brexit-deal-not-100-but-64.html"> ConservativeHome estimated on Friday </a> that she could lose by a margin of up to 180 MPs. If she did resign, a Tory leadership election would follow. An extension to Article 50 could be required. A general election might be triggered.

Momentum for a fresh Brexit referendum would grow rapidly. A minister in May's government told Business Insider that they'd come out in support for another referendum if the alternative was no deal — and that lots of Conservative MPs, including some in government, would do the same. Organisers of the People's Vote campaign have told Business Insider that they are in talks with up to 50 Conservative MPs who could possibly join of the movement.

One senior Tory MP who campaigned for Remain told Business Insider: "The house can't be prevented from debating any motions they like [if May's deal is rejected]. During the course of those debates, it will become clear that there are a lot of MPs who want a second referendum," they said.

"There will be at some point a vote where I hope parliament will indicate their preference for a public vote."

<h1> Heres an illustration of the meaningful vote process. </h1>

<a id="001f4558-ecd6-31cf-a87e-12be410e06e2" href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-it-will-play-out-if-mps-vote-down-theresa-mays-brexit-deal-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Read Business Insider's explainer on the full range of possibilities here </a> .

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Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May holds a news conference at Downing Street in London

Here's what happens next in Brexit

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