Summary
This is the European Union Committee’s fourth report on Brexit-related treaties, or international agreements, laid before Parliament in accordance with section 20 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (the CRAG Act).
This report addresses twelve agreements, which we considered at our meeting on 26 February. Three of these agreements are trade agreements, and in Chapter 1 we raise four issues of concern that have arisen in respect of all three agreements: the economic scale of the agreements, and its implications for the Government’s wider programme of rolling over existing EU trade agreements; the Government’s use of ‘short form’ agreements; the arrangements for scrutinising future modifications of these agreements; and the adequacy of the Government’s consultation on these agreements, in particular with the devolved administrations.
We draw special attention to the three trade agreements, on the grounds that in each case they are politically and legally important, giving rise to issues of public policy that the House may wish to debate prior to ratification; and that further consultation, including with the devolved administrations, would be appropriate. The agreements are as follows:
- Agreement establishing an Economic Partnership Agreement between the Eastern and Southern Africa States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [CP 31]
- Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Kingdom of Denmark in respect of the Faroe Islands [CP 32]
- Agreement establishing an Association between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Chile [CP 35]
We also draw special attention to the agreements reached with the Eastern and Southern Africa States and with the Faroe Islands on the grounds that the supporting explanatory material provides insufficient information on their policy objectives and on how they will be implemented.
We report the following nine agreements for information:
- Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America on the Mutual Recognition of certain distilled Spirits/Spirit Drinks [CP 34]
- Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America on Trade in Wine [CP 36]
- Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing [CP 41]
- Agreement for the Establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission [CP 42]
- Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in North-East Atlantic Fisheries [CP 43]
- Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean [CP 44]
- Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas [CP 45]
- International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas [CP 46]
- Convention on Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries [CP 47]