UK & other courts
ClientEarth has launched its third legal challenge in the High Court to Government proposals for reducing illegal levels of harmful nitrogen dioxide which it considers inadequate, given that eight years after the UK was found to be in breach of EU limits on the pollutant levels were still too high in 37 out of 43 zones across the country.
Evaluation of UK’s international obligations
The European committee of social rights has found that UK sick pay breaches international legal obligations, with the money available “manifestly inadequate”.
UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU
The House of Commons has published a briefing paper considering EU decisions and legislating for Brexit.
The UK in a Changing Europe has reported on a survey of MPs which has found that Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn face significant political challenges over Brexit.
As part of its Law Pod UK series, 1 Crown Office Row has produced an episode outlining the legal milestones to Brexit.
Theresa May is facing a Eurosceptic rebellion over the two year Brexit transition period, with Jacob Rees-Mogg suggesting the UK will merely be a ‘vassal state’ in this period: subject to EU rules and judgments but with no influence over them.
The Commons Select Committee on European Scrutiny has published its tenth report looking at documents in the light of the UK decision to withdraw from the EU.
In comments caught at the World Economic Forum in Davos, David Cameron has stated that Brexit was a “mistake, not a disaster”. Meanwhile at Davos, Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, has stated that the US still has a close relationship with the UK, and is ‘very supportive’ of the UK on Brexit. At the World Economic Forum, Philip Hammond provoked a Tory backlash by calling for a soft Brexit in his speech, in which there would be only ‘very modest’ changes to Britain’s relationship with the EU. Theresa May has disowned his remarks.
The UK is reportedly seeking a special ‘good faith’ provision in its Brexit transition deal, amid fears that the EU may otherwise exploit its position to impose deliberately harmful rules on the UK.
Lord Lawson has suggested that civil servants will “do their best to frustrate Brexit”, arguing that Whitehall feels uneasy about Brexit because it represents radical change.
A paper written by David Keighley and Andrew Jubb for Civitas considers how pro-Brexit views have been marginalised in the BBC’s news coverage.
EU diplomats have stated that the UK’s failure to formally ask for continuation of non-EU deals is an example of lethargy, and this slow approach to negotiations is developing into a major problem.
The European Council has published the agenda highlights for its General Affairs Council meeting for next week at which EU27 ministers are expected to adopt a new set of negotiating directives for the Brexit negotiations, giving details of the position on the transition period. Channel 4 has reportedly seen a document setting out the EU’s negotiating guidelines for the Brexit transition.
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