Brexit

• LONDON, Aug. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With just 10 weeks to go until the 31 October Brexit deadline, Brits are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential decline in their passport power.
• Over the past 14 years, the UK has consistently held one of the top five places on the Henley Passport Index.
• "With the real estate market in Europe currently flourishing, acquiring property-linked citizenship or residence is a safe and sensible investment.
• It remains an affordable and viable means of mitigating the risk factors on every side of the Brexit debate."

House of Commons Library

No deal Brexit: What happens to farm payments?

No deal Brexit: What happens to farm payments?

• Currently farmers in the UK receive around 4bn per year under the EUs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).This is split between direct payments to farms (the majority) and agricultural support and rural development funding.
• The UK Government has said that if the UK leaves the EU on 31 October 2019 with no agreement in place, eligible beneficiaries will continue to receive payments under the terms of the UK governments funding guaranteeuntil the end of this Parliament, expected in 2022.
• Beneficiaries will be required to conform to the same standards as they do currentlyto receive payments.

Farm payments after Brexit

• This includes all funding provided for farm support under both Pillar 1 (mainly direct payments) and Pillar 2 (mainly rural development and agri-environment schemes) of the current CAP.
• Levels of funding after 2022 and details of how funds might be apportioned have not been set out A new framework and legislative basis will be needed for farm support after Brexit and preparation for this is in train across the UK.
• The four UK nations have consulted on and are developing their approaches for how to support farmers in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales after Brexit.

The Agriculture Bill 2017-19

• Provisions for the framework for future farm support payments have been set out in the Agriculture Bill 2017-19for England, with schedules providing similar powers for Wales and Northern Ireland.
• The Commons Library briefing on the Agriculture Bill 2017-19 contains further information.
• It proposes a transition period with little change until 2020 and simplification of current schemes from 2021.

Secondary legislation

• Should the Bill not have received Royal Assent at the time of Brexit, the provisions in it to enable Ministers to continue to make farm support payments would not be in place.
• However, the Government has introduced secondary legislation to allow continuation of payments.
• The explanatory memorandum to the Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments to Farmers) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, and The Common Agricultural Policy (Rules for Direct Payments) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 explains that their purpose is to allow for direct (farm) payments legislation to continue to operate effectively after Brexit.
• The SIs provide the legal basis for continuing payments to farmers and enable UK authorities to determine actual funding levels.

No deal technical notices

• The Government has published a series of technical notices for stakeholders on no deal preparations. The Farm Payments if there’s no Brexit deal [Accessed 13 August 2019] states that:
  • If the UK leaves the EU on 31 October 2019 with no agreement in place, eligible beneficiaries will continue to receive payments under the terms of the UK government’s funding guarantee.
  • Defra and the devolved administrations are preparing domestic legislation (under the Withdrawal Act) to ensure we have the ability in law to continue operation of payments in a ‘no deal’ scenario. This legislation preserves the EU law as it currently stands, and ‘fixes’ the legislation so that it is operable once we’ve left the EU.
  • The domestic legislation will require beneficiaries to conform to the same standards as they do currently, in order to receive payments. This will include on-site inspections to UK farms receiving payments, which will continue as normal.
  • All of these rules and processes will remain the same until Defra and the devolved administrations introduce new agriculture policies, either through the Agriculture Bill, or an Agriculture Bill in one or more of the devolved parliaments.
  • The government has pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of this parliament, expected in 2022: this includes all funding provided for farm support under both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of the current CAP. This commitment applies to the whole UK.

• The Government needs to secure roll-over of EU free trade agreements so they apply to the UK after Brexit (for more information see background, below).
• Each time it rolls over such an agreement, it reports this to Parliament with detailed information, including an assessment of the impact on UK trade.
• It has not detailed the impact of the actual tariffs which it intends to implement under its temporary tariff regime in case of a no-deal Brexit (which was published in March).
• The Government has stated that, in the case of a no-deal Brexit, 87% of all UK imports will be subject to zero tariffs.

• The Government needs to secure roll-over of EU free trade agreements so they apply to the UK after Brexit (for more information see background, below).
• Each time it rolls over such an agreement, it reports this to Parliament with detailed information, including an assessment of the impact on UK trade.
• It has not detailed the impact of the actual tariffs which it intends to implement under its temporary tariff regime in case of a no-deal Brexit (which was published in March).
• The Government has stated that, in the case of a no-deal Brexit, 87% of all UK imports will be subject to zero tariffs.