Karen Tyner, Food & Beverages Division, Bord Bia – Irish food Board

When the UK leaves the EU it will use the Great Repeal Bill to adopt EU legation into the UK System. The Great Repeal Bill will provide the adopted legislation with a legal standing and provide the UK Government with time to review or amend the laws as deemed necessary. This article aims to provide some detail around the intent and content of the often referenced Great Repeal Bill.

The UK Government published its White Paper on the Great Repeal Bill on 30 March 2017, one day after it served notice of its intentions to withdraw from the EU following the result from the Brexit referendum.

It is expected that the Great Repeal Bill will be included in the next Queen’s Speech and therefore introduced in the next parliamentary session. It will not come into force however until the day the UK leaves the European Union. The current date for this is expected to be the 29th of March 2019 although if Article 50 negotiations are extended, it may be later. Until the UK actually leaves, EU law will continue to apply.

The Bill has a number of objectives. It will bring all EU laws onto the UK books. This means that laws and regulations created while the UK was a member of the EU will continue to apply thus ensuring a smooth transition on the day after Brexit.

The Bill will repeal the European Communities Act 1972. This is the legislation that took Britain into the EU and meant European law took precedence over laws passed nationally by the UK. Future laws passed in Westminster will as a result, no longer need to be compatible with those passed in Brussels.

It is believed that by ensuring that the UK will have the same EU rules and regulations initially, it will be helpful with the trade negotiations between the two parties as the UK will meet all of the EU standards.

The bill will also create powers to create secondary legislation. This will help overcome the technical problems that will arise as EU laws are put on the UK statute books. Many laws mention EU institutions and EU law itself and these will not be part of the UK legal system after Brexit. The bill creates powers to "correct the statute book where necessary". The bill will give ministers the power to make these changes to this legislation over time by secondary legislation.

The total body of European law, dating back to 1958, is known as the Acquis Communautaire. It binds all member states and in 2010 was estimated to consist of about 80,000 items, covering everything from workers' rights to environment and trade.

The White Paper also commits to “intensive discussions with the devolved administrations” about how policy powers repatriated to the UK from the EU will be distributed between the areas within the UK.

For further information and weekly updates on Brexit, please continue to check the Brexit section on the Bord Bia website.