Steven Barrett

The German courts have just made Brexit talks easier

The old division of leaver and remainer will not serve the best interests of the country as we go forward. That truth might be emotionally hard to accept, but it will remain true. We need now to adapt to the real challenges the future holds.

One of the most pressing is our future relationship with the EU – and that is being negotiated again on Monday.

I have written on how we should support the EU given the recent judgment of the German Constitutional Court on the question of the European Central Bank bond scheme. The case is complicated and while I enjoy a good legal fight over complex financial products, I appreciate many do not. But, as is often the case in law, the reason it is important has nothing to do with its subject matter.

For the first time ever in the history of the EU, a national court has refused to submit to the European Court of Justice.

What matters about the German court’s action is simply that, for the first time ever in the history of the EU, a national court has refused to submit to the European Court of Justice.

When the UK voted to leave the EU, it was always theoretically possible for Parliament to do so by passing an Act of Parliament. But the idea of doing so was unthinkable at the time; the UK began its process of leaving, not under our law, but under EU law. What the German court has done is the constitutional equivalent of us unilaterally leaving. Just because the issue is over a seemingly dull topic, it must not be underestimated.

On Monday, David Frost will speak with Michel Barnier in the next round of negotiations which the German court has made irrelevant and potentially impossible.

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