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The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom, but to a large extent its relations with other countries are handled by the United Kingdom.
The European Union Committee was a select committee of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its terms of reference were "to consider European Union documents and other matters relating to the European Union", as well as "to represent the House as appropriate in interparliamentary co-operation within the European Union".
The European Scrutiny Committee was a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Following Britain's withdrawal from the European Union in January 2020 and the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 until the 2024 general election, the Committee continued to "monitor the legal and/or political importance of new EU legislation and policy and assess their potential implications for the UK. It was also able to scrutinise the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Protocol on Northern Ireland and the UK/EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement."
In general, the law of the European Union is valid in all of the twenty-seven European Union member states. However, occasionally member states negotiate certain opt-outs from legislation or treaties of the European Union, meaning they do not have to participate in certain policy areas. Currently, three states have such opt-outs: Denmark, Ireland and Poland. The United Kingdom had four opt-outs before leaving the Union.
In the United Kingdom, devolution is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's statutory granting of a greater level of self-government to the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the London Assembly and to their associated executive bodies: the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and in England, the Greater London Authority and combined authorities.
Relations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) are governed, since 1 January 2021, by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
The Treaties of the European Union are a set of international treaties between the European Union (EU) member states which sets out the EU's constitutional basis. They establish the various EU institutions together with their remit, procedures and objectives. The EU can only act within the competences granted to it through these treaties and amendment to the treaties requires the agreement and ratification of every single signatory.
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The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Union (EU), Euratom, and the United Kingdom (UK), signed on 24 January 2020, setting the terms of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and Euratom. The text of the treaty was published on 17 October 2019, and is a renegotiated version of an agreement published in November 2018. The earlier version of the withdrawal agreement was rejected by the House of Commons on three occasions, leading to the resignation of Theresa May as Prime Minister and the appointment of Boris Johnson as the new prime minister on 24 July 2019.
Federalism in the United Kingdom aims at constitutional reform to achieve a federal UK or a British federation, where there is a division of legislative powers between two or more levels of government, so that sovereignty is decentralised between a federal government and autonomous governments in a federal system.
The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, commonly abbreviated to the Northern Ireland Protocol, is a protocol to the Brexit withdrawal agreement that sets out Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit relationship with both the EU and Great Britain. The Withdrawal Agreement, including the Protocol, came into effect on 1 January 2021. Citing the island of Ireland's "unique circumstances," the Protocol governs unique arrangements on the island between the United Kingdom and the European Union; it regulates some aspects of trade in goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom was a member state of the European Union and of its predecessor the European Communities from 1973 until 2020. Since the foundation of the European Communities, it has been an important neighbour, and was a leading member state until its withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020 as a result of Brexit, ending 47 years of membership.
The United Kingdom Common Frameworks are a group of legislative and non- legislative policies that aim to create UK wide frameworks and ensure the security and integrity of the UK internal market.
The United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in December 2020. Its purpose is to prevent internal trade barriers within the UK, and to restrict the legislative powers of the devolved administrations in economic policy. It is one of several pieces of legislation concerning trade that were passed following the European Union membership referendum, as after Brexit the UK is no longer directly subject to EU law.
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The Irish Sea border is an informal term for the trade border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. It was specified by the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, was refined by the Joint Committee in December 2020, and came into effect on 1 January 2021 following the end of the Brexit transition period. As a result of the Agreement, Northern Ireland remains aligned to the European Single Market in a limited way for goods, whilst remaining part of the United Kingdom customs territory and the UK internal market. Its effect is that the need for customs checks on the Irish border has been avoided, and a hard border has not been re-established.
The Windsor Framework is a post-Brexit legal agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom which adjusts the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The Framework was announced on 27 February 2023, formally adopted by both parties on 24 March 2023 and came into effect on 1 October 2023. The UK Government announced plans for revisions to the Framework's operation in January 2024.
The Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee was established to assist with the observation and implementation of Article 13(3a) and (4) of the Windsor Framework, which is a legal agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom which adjusts the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. These are the parts of the Framework which set out the processes for how new, and amending or replacement EU law may apply in Northern Ireland.
References
- ↑ "European Affairs Committee". UK Parliament | committees.
- ↑ "New European Affairs Committee and Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland established". UK Parliament | committees. 20 April 2021.
- ↑ "European Affairs Committee – membership". UK Parliament | committees.
- ↑ "New name for Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland". UK Parliament | committees. 15 November 2023.
- ↑ "Windsor Framework Sub-Committee". UK Parliament | committees.