The main and most significant change is an “interpretative instrument” that will be ratified alongside the withdrawal agreement and has equal legal force. It sets out a procedure that Britain could use to exit the backstop if it was triggered in 2020 or 2021 amid a breakdown in trade negotiations. If, the legal text states, the EU acted in bad faith with “a systematic refusal to take into consideration adverse proposals or interests” during trade talks then an arbitration panel could allow Britain to suspend the backstop. The ruling of the independent arbitration panel would assess whether the EU was acting “with the objective of applying the [backstop] indefinitely” . The assurances helpfully condense and parse procedures set out in five…

Source: The Times March 12, 2019 09:11 UTC