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| Reality Check: Brexit withdrawal agreement - what it all means | Reality Check: Brexit withdrawal agreement - what it all means |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The draft Brexit withdrawal agreement stands at 585 pages long. It sets out how the UK leaves the European Union, scheduled for 29 March 2019. | The draft Brexit withdrawal agreement stands at 585 pages long. It sets out how the UK leaves the European Union, scheduled for 29 March 2019. |
| Chris Morris, from BBC Reality Check, has been going through it in detail and pulls out the key points from the agreement and what they mean. | Chris Morris, from BBC Reality Check, has been going through it in detail and pulls out the key points from the agreement and what they mean. |
| Transition | Transition |
| Chris Morris's analysis: The details of transition aren't new but they are no less awkward for that. At a time when the government wants to trumpet that it is taking back control (its slogan, not mine), it will be ceding control for 21 months and very possibly longer. There will be no UK presence in the European Parliament, at the top table of the European Commission or in the European Court of Justice. | Chris Morris's analysis: The details of transition aren't new but they are no less awkward for that. At a time when the government wants to trumpet that it is taking back control (its slogan, not mine), it will be ceding control for 21 months and very possibly longer. There will be no UK presence in the European Parliament, at the top table of the European Commission or in the European Court of Justice. |
| The UK will have no formal say in making or amending EU rules and regulations, but it will have to follow them to the letter. The great advantage of transition, of course, is that it buys more time for businesses and governments to prepare for a new regime, and it smoothes the path out of the EU. Transition also gives the UK continued access to EU databases on crucial issues like security while a future relationship is negotiated. | The UK will have no formal say in making or amending EU rules and regulations, but it will have to follow them to the letter. The great advantage of transition, of course, is that it buys more time for businesses and governments to prepare for a new regime, and it smoothes the path out of the EU. Transition also gives the UK continued access to EU databases on crucial issues like security while a future relationship is negotiated. |
| Money | Money |
| Chris Morris's analysis: It seems a long time now since the size of the "divorce bill" was the big issue that was never going to be resolved, but the government knew that without a financial settlement, progress on other issues would be impossible. | Chris Morris's analysis: It seems a long time now since the size of the "divorce bill" was the big issue that was never going to be resolved, but the government knew that without a financial settlement, progress on other issues would be impossible. |
| Money remains a cause of controversy, though, because many Brexit supporters hate the fact that large sums will be handed over without any cast-iron guarantee about the nature of the UK's future trade relationship with the EU. Any refusal to pay, on the other hand, would sour relations and could - in extremis - end up in court. | Money remains a cause of controversy, though, because many Brexit supporters hate the fact that large sums will be handed over without any cast-iron guarantee about the nature of the UK's future trade relationship with the EU. Any refusal to pay, on the other hand, would sour relations and could - in extremis - end up in court. |
| Citizens' rights | Citizens' rights |
| Chris Morris's analysis: The European Parliament has promised to make citizens' rights its top priority. But while politicians on all sides are telling citizens that they want them to stay, the Brexit process has caused an enormous amount of anxiety and uncertainty. | Chris Morris's analysis: The European Parliament has promised to make citizens' rights its top priority. But while politicians on all sides are telling citizens that they want them to stay, the Brexit process has caused an enormous amount of anxiety and uncertainty. |
| British citizens in other EU countries, for example, still don't know whether they will be able to work across borders in the future, because their right to reside only applies to the specific country where they live. Recognition of professional qualifications, and access to university education on the same terms they have now, are also unresolved issues. | British citizens in other EU countries, for example, still don't know whether they will be able to work across borders in the future, because their right to reside only applies to the specific country where they live. Recognition of professional qualifications, and access to university education on the same terms they have now, are also unresolved issues. |
| Northern Ireland/the backstop | Northern Ireland/the backstop |
| Chris Morris's analysis: The single customs territory is basically another name for a temporary customs union and, if it were needed, it would ensure that completely frictionless trade could continue across the Irish border. But it would also prevent the UK implementing any trade deals with other countries around the world that involve removing tariffs on goods. | Chris Morris's analysis: The single customs territory is basically another name for a temporary customs union and, if it were needed, it would ensure that completely frictionless trade could continue across the Irish border. But it would also prevent the UK implementing any trade deals with other countries around the world that involve removing tariffs on goods. |
| That upsets supporters of Brexit, especially as there is no guaranteed route out of this backstop unless the EU gives its consent. The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland was the toughest part of the draft agreement to negotiate and, now it has been published, it has triggered a series of government resignations. | |
| Fishing | Fishing |
| Chris Morris's analysis: Fishing is always a hot button issue, even though in most countries the fishing sector forms a tiny part of the economy. Fishing has been left out of plans for a single customs territory because several countries objected to the idea that UK fish produce would be allowed unimpeded access to EU markets, without any corresponding guarantee that EU boats would be granted access to UK fishing waters. | Chris Morris's analysis: Fishing is always a hot button issue, even though in most countries the fishing sector forms a tiny part of the economy. Fishing has been left out of plans for a single customs territory because several countries objected to the idea that UK fish produce would be allowed unimpeded access to EU markets, without any corresponding guarantee that EU boats would be granted access to UK fishing waters. |
| It's an example of how negotiations on a temporary customs union were bound to throw up a host of complications - and a reminder of how tough negotiations on a future trade agreement are likely to be. | It's an example of how negotiations on a temporary customs union were bound to throw up a host of complications - and a reminder of how tough negotiations on a future trade agreement are likely to be. |
| Laws and disputes | Laws and disputes |
| Chris Morris's analysis: Most of this draft agreement deals with matters of EU law, so the European Court of Justice casts a long shadow. The arbitration system for resolving disputes creates a semblance of independence and ECJ rulings will no longer have direct effect in the UK once transition is over. | Chris Morris's analysis: Most of this draft agreement deals with matters of EU law, so the European Court of Justice casts a long shadow. The arbitration system for resolving disputes creates a semblance of independence and ECJ rulings will no longer have direct effect in the UK once transition is over. |
| That is an important point of principle for the UK government, but the European Court will continue to have indirect influence over the UK for many years to come. | That is an important point of principle for the UK government, but the European Court will continue to have indirect influence over the UK for many years to come. |
| What else is in it? | What else is in it? |
| Read more from Reality Check | Read more from Reality Check |
| Send us your questions | Send us your questions |
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