Exiting the EU with certainty

The Government have taken the next step in returning power from Brussels to the UK by introducing the European Union Withdrawal Bill.

Known as the Repeal Bill, it is designed to ensure that the UK exits the EU with maximum certainty, continuity and control. As far as possible, the same rules and laws will apply on the day after exit as on the day before.

This will allow the UK to leave the EU while ensuring that our future laws will be made in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff.

For businesses, workers and consumers across the UK that means they can have confidence that they will not be subject to unexpected changes on the day we leave the EU. It also delivers on our promise to end the supremacy of EU law in the UK.

The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis, said: “This Bill means that we will be able to exit the European Union with maximum certainty, continuity and control. That is what the British people voted for and it is exactly what we will do – ensure that the decisions that affect our lives are taken here in the UK.

“It is one of the most significant pieces of legislation that has ever passed through Parliament and is a major milestone in the process of our withdrawal from the European Union. By working together, in the national interest, we can ensure we have a fully functioning legal system on the day we leave the European Union. The eyes of the country are on us and I will work with anyone to achieve this goal and shape a new future for our country.”

The Repeal Bill is a mechanism to achieve three simple aims:

• Repeal the European Communities Act, remove supremacy of EU law and return control to the UK.
• Convert EU law into UK law where appropriate, giving businesses continuity to operate in the knowledge that nothing has changed overnight, and providing certainty that rights and obligations will not be subject to sudden change.
• Create the necessary temporary powers to correct the laws that no longer operate appropriately so that our legal system continues to function outside the EU.