Page 26 - Horizon Han22

EU Law in a Post-Brexit Britain: Have Your Say
North East England Chamber of Commerce give us the latest on the Retained EU Law Bill.
Iby Callum George
n just over a year, some of the laws we
take for granted may be erased completely, or changed to fit the
Government’s vision for a post-Brexit Britain.
As it stands (or, at least as I write), Prime Minister Sunak’s new Government has not yet appointed a ‘Brexit Opportunities Minister’, much to the note of the media.
This has led to speculation around the future of the Retained EU Law Bill; but what exactly is the Retained EU Law Bill, and what could it mean for businesses in the North East?
The simple answer to this question, is the impact could be large, and long-lasting.
This means, regardless of the Bill’s speculated future, it is crucial for businesses to know what it means for their daily operations, and- if they are concerned- how to make this known.
The Bill addresses 2,417 pieces of legislature that the UK has inherited from the EU following Brexit.
There are three options for what can happen with each piece of retained EU law: they can be amended, replaced by a UK version (so essentially kept), or they can be scrapped altogether.
There are two caveats to this; the first being that if any EU law isn’t decided on by the 31st of December 2023, they will be automatically kept, or scrapped.
The second caveat is that any decisions made will be done via statutory instrument, meaning no voting is in the process of keeping or changing retained EU laws.
A deadline, and tightly centralised governance, mean that it is integral to make businesses’ voices heard as part of deciding what Retained EU Laws will be kept or changed.
The laws affected are vast, ranging from employment rights, product regulations, data protection and environmental laws.
This means that, although this will be of notable concern to those trading globally, it really should be on the radar of every workplace.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the North East relies on the EU as its main trading partner, accounting for 54% of imports and 57% of exports.
Those figures show that the North East’s trade with the EU alone has more monetary value than the region’s trade with the rest of the world.
Horizon - Taking your international trade further.
Left: The European Parliament - Strasbourg
Horizon issue 2.indd 26 14/12/2022 14:49:45