Windsor Framework: Plan to scrap EU laws could undermine NI deal, says report

Plans to scrap thousands of EU-era laws copied over to UK law after Brexit could undermine the Windsor Framework, a think tank has warned

The government's Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill will see thousands of laws expire automatically at the end of 2023.

The Centre for European Reform (CER) said that would lead to "unmanaged divergence" between Britain and the EU.

It says this in turn would "deepen the regulatory gulf between Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

Under the bill, laws can be specifically kept or replaced should the government choose to.

A government spokesman said: "We reject these claims. We've been very clear that any reforms will not come at the expense of the UK's already high standards, or our international obligations.

"The Retained EU Law Bill will not compromise the Windsor Framework, while still allowing us to seize the regulatory reform opportunities offered by Brexit."

The Windsor Framework is the new post-Brexit deal between the EU and UK which sets Northern Ireland's trading rules.

In 2019 the UK and EU agreed the Protocol; it kept Northern Ireland inside the EU single market for goods which allowed a free flow of goods across the Irish border.

However it made trading from GB to NI became more difficult and expensive.

• What does new NI Brexit deal mean for business?

The Windsor Framework amends the protocol and is designed to ease those GB to NI trade flows.

'NI could be undercut by GB'

However the CER analysis says the REUL Bill will effectively work against that intention.

The report's author Anton Spisak said: "The risk is that Northern Irish businesses, which default to EU production rules, could be undercut by lower standards from GB producers.

"To avoid this, UK ministers would proactively have to 'preserve' all laws that could risk creating such difficulties for the UK's own internal market on the statute book. This defeats the purpose of the REUL bill."

The think tank said GB businesses could undercut those in NI working to EU standards

He has suggested that the bill could be amended to exclude all legislation insofar as it is effective in Northern Ireland, including any laws that fall within the scope of the Windsor Framework.

He also said if the government wanted to remove supremacy of retained EU law within the UK legal order, it should do so without prejudice to any obligations arising from international treaties, including the framework.

Mr Spisak said the EU "does not want to rock the boat by raising questions that could spur fresh tensions".

But he added that EU diplomats are concerned not only about what the bill could do to the Windsor Framework, but also about what it would mean for the direction of the UK's regulatory policy.

It's understood the government is planning legislation to be in place before the sunset date to provide for the continued implementation of international obligations the Windsor Framework.