The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Brexit: resistance to Johnson's internal market law in the House of Lords

2020-10-20T18:21:56.758Z


The British House of Lords sends a clear vote to Prime Minister Johnson in the dispute over Brexit. It remains unclear whether talks with the EU on a trade agreement will continue.


Icon: enlarge

Boris Johnson in London on Tuesday

Photo: 

Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

The British House of Lords has rejected the controversial internal market law of the Boris Johnson administration by a large majority.

The vote was about an amendment, with which the House of Lords criticized the fact that the law would undermine the rule of law and damage the image of the UK.

The House of Lords voted 395 to 169 for the amendment, expressing clear criticism of the draft.

With the law, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government could undo parts of the exit agreement between London and the EU that is already in force.

This was met with strong protests from the opposition and the European Union.

They accused Johnson of breaking the law.

Many of Johnson's critics sit in the House of Lords.

The MPs in the lower house, however, had voted for the law more than a month ago with a clear majority.

Now there could be a kind of political ping-pong game between the lower and upper houses.

British media described the Lords' vote as a "heavy defeat" for the government.

The Guardian wrote that this will not stop the law, but that "fundamental changes" will be necessary for final approval in the House of Lords.

The law could destroy special rules for Northern Ireland in the Brexit agreement, which are supposed to prevent a hard border with the EU state Ireland and new hostilities there.

Great Britain speaks of a "safety net", while the EU speaks of a breach of contract.

Barnier is ready to talk, London insists on demands

The Brexit transition phase, during which everything has largely remained the same, will end in ten weeks.

London and Brussels are currently wrestling over a trade pact from 2021. But the talks have stalled.

"We should make the most of the remaining time. Our door is open," wrote EU negotiator Michel Barnier on Tuesday after a phone call with his British colleague David Frost on Twitter.

However, London again demanded that the European Union show a willingness to compromise and change its position.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had accused the EU of not wanting a trade deal with Great Britain.

Therefore, his country is preparing for an exit from the EU internal market and the customs union without a treaty at the turn of the year.

A British government spokesman had even declared the trade talks over.

It is unclear whether negotiations will continue.

The CSU MEP Manfred Weber described the British threat to break off the negotiations as "political theater".

The EU should not go to this level, said the group leader of the European People's Party (EPP).

Icon: The mirror

mes / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-10-20

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-04T11:50:26.682Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.