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1 [1] (November 28, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthzzbzq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: CRS INSIGHT Brexit at a Pivotal Moment November 28, 2018 (IN11002) Related Author De ekE Mix Derek E. Mix, Analyst in European Affairs (dmix . I ov, 7-9116) UK Parliament to Vote on Withdrawal Agreement Four months away from the United Kingdom's (UK's) expected withdrawal from the European Union (EU), discord and uncertainty remain central themes in the analysis of Brexit. The efforts of UK and EU negotiators to reconcile a complex set of competing interests and preferences li pr duced a 585-page draft withdrawal agreement and a 26- page political declaration on the future UK-EU relationship. EU leaders signed off on the deal in late November 2018, leaving a vote by the European Parliament as the final step for approval by the EU before the March 29, 2019, withdrawal date. In the UK, however, pronounced divisions remain about how Brexit should look. The withdrawal agreement faces a crucial test when the UK Parliament votes on whether to approve it, a vote expected to occur on December 11, 2018. A Tough Sell Securing passage in the UK's Parliament is expected to be challenging for UK Prime Minister Theresa May. The draft agreement contains elements strongly disliked by each of the main British political factions. A transition period and the so-called Northern Ireland backstop are particular points of contention. During a proposed transition period lasting through 2020, which might be extended through 2022, the UK would be bound to follow all rules governing the EL single market while the two sides negotiate their future relationship. The backstop provision would keep the UK in the EL customs unioQn beyond the transition period unless and until the two sides agree on alternate arrangements. The backstop was made necessary by the lack of an apparent solution to the Iriah border quQtn, with both sides intent on avoiding a hard border (with customs checks and physical border infrastructure) between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to preserve the peace process and extensive cross-border economic relations. Supporters of a hard Brexit fear the transition period and backstop could lead to the UK ending up a ZxasaallatC of the EU, bound indefinitely to EU rules in a wide range of areas (both sides would have to jointly agree to end the backstop). The UK would gain sovereign control over immigration policy but, as a member of the EU customs union, would be unable to conduct an independent national trade policy and conclude its own trade agreements, negating one of the main arguments made in favor of Brexit. It also would have to accept EU economic regulations and rules in areas such as the environment and labor market. Skeptics of Brexit also criticize the deal as not only relegating the UK to a rule taker without a say in EU