Mrs (Prime
Minister): This is a statement, for the purposes of
section 13 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, that
political agreement has been reached. I am of the opinion that an
agreement in principle has been reached in negotiations under
Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union on the substance
of:
a. the arrangements for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the
European Union, and
b. the framework for the future relationship between the European
Union and the United Kingdom after withdrawal.
A copy of the negotiated withdrawal agreement which, in my
opinion, reflects the agreement in principle so far as relating
to the arrangements for withdrawal, including provisions for the
implementation period, has been laid before the House on Monday
26 November with the title ‘Agreement on the withdrawal of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the
European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community’.
A copy of the framework for the future relationship which, in my
opinion, reflects the agreement in principle so far as relating
to the framework for the future relationship between the EU and
the United Kingdom has been laid before the House on Monday 26
November 2018 with the title ‘Political Declaration setting out
the framework for the future relationship between the European
Union and the United Kingdom’.
These documents are being presented to Parliament at the earliest
opportunity in order to facilitate the fullest possible scrutiny
ahead of the parliamentary debate and vote on the approval of
these documents.
At this stage, the withdrawal agreement represents a version of
the text which has been agreed, but has not yet been formally
signed. Before this formal signature takes place, the agreement
must complete the European Union’s jurist-linguist translation
process. During that time, minor technical corrections will be
made to the text, though these changes will not affect the
substance of the agreement. The laying of the withdrawal
agreement before Parliament at this stage does not therefore
trigger any procedures under the Constitutional Reform and
Governance Act 2010.
