UK Parliament Gives Preliminary Approval to Brexit Deal, but Next Steps Unclear

The United Kingdom Parliament on Oct. 22 voted to approve the broad outlines of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new transition deal for exiting the United Kingdom. The 329-299 vote on the implementation bill’s “second reading” in Parliament would normally move the bill forward to a detailed examination of the bill at committee stage and then a final vote on the “third reading,” though U.K. lawmakers in a second vote rejected Johnson’s proposed three-day timetable for considering the bill and a new schedule has yet to be proposed, according to a report from the BBC.

Johnson has now said he is putting the bill on “pause” until after speaking to EU leaders. Johnson had prior to the votes said he would call a general election -- which must be approved by Parliament -- if his proposed timetable didn’t pass, though some observers say he may seek a short Brexit extension from the EU to give Parliament more time to consider the bill, according to the BBC report. Johnson still says he wants to leave the EU by Oct. 31.

Key to the bill’s passage were 19 Labour members of Parliament that defected to vote in favor. Jo Swinson, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said those MPs threw the Brexit deal a “lifeline,” but added that there is no guarantee that the implementation bill will ultimately be passed into law in the final vote, according to another BBC report.

In the run-up to the votes, the U.K. published the text of the implementation bill, as well as a set of explanatory notes and a series of fact sheets. As agreed by U.K. and EU negotiators on Oct. 17, the transition deal would keep the U.K. under EU rules until Dec. 31, 2020, during which time a treaty would be negotiated to govern the U.K.’s future relationship with the EU (see 1910170033). A U.K. fact sheet says the implementation period may be extended by July 1, 2020, for a limited period of “up to one or two years.”

A fact sheet on the U.K.’s separation agreement with the European Free Trade Association says provisions on the U.K. relationship with EFTA member states -- Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein -- mirrors the U.K.’s transition deal with the EU. That includes customs clearance and trade in goods, the fact sheet said.

Despite the apparent progress toward approval of a transition deal in the U.K. Parliament, Malta Customs issued a press release Oct. 22 that urged the island EU member state to prepare for a no-deal Brexit. It’s still “a bit unclear whether the United Kingdom will withdraw from the European Union with or without a deal by the end of October 2019 or whether there will be another extension,” the release said. The release reiterated previous warnings that, if a no-deal Brexit occurs, trade with the U.K. would suddenly be under the same rules as those for non-EU member states.