Back when the Withdrawal Agreement was first concluded, I did wonder about whether there was a need for an explainer for each of the provisions contained within it, one graphic at a time, so that everyone could be more on top of it all. However, since there was rather a lot going on then (and […]

Last week saw the Commission launch a proposal on youth mobility with the UK. Covering almost all activities (including doing nothing) for 18-30 year olds, the presentation was one of not penalising the kids for the unfortunate break-up of the relationship. It was also a none-too-subtle pushback at the perceived efforts of the UK government […]

A bit of tricky one, this. It partly explains the hiatus in posting of late, although that might also be down to the rubbish weather. As we move towards a General Election, interest has naturally turned towards what a Labour government might look like and do. And EU policy is a recurring question. On the […]

Last week’s announcement of a package of measures to support the return of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive might not have produced much substantial change in UK-EU relations, but it has prompted me to update a number of key graphics. For newer readers, over the past [quickly checks; sighs] eight years, I’ve been making […]

The publication on Wednesday of a UK Command Paper “Safeguarding the Union” came largely out of the blue. For months the Secretary of State and budding author, Chris Heaton-Harris, has been talking with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) about returning to power-sharing in the Northern Ireland Executive. Last year’s Windsor Framework was supposed to have […]

During the Christmas break, the UK got rid of all its Retained EU Law (REUL). But not really. The entry into force of the Retained EU Law Act at New Year’s Eve meant that all that “Retained EU Law” got relabelled as “assimilated law”. As I discussed in my previous post, the Act also resulted […]

Christmas is, of course, the most Brexit-y time of year. Who can forget such classic moments as reading treaties under the tinsel in 2019 and 2020, or pondering the no-confidence vote in 2018 over a glass of eggnog? Obviously keen to keep up the tradition after a couple of fallow years, this time we get […]