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25 Jan, 5 tweets, 2 min read
EU/S Korea - free trade and labour rights

The EU's press release on the new expert panel report on whether S Korea is in breach of its labour obligations under the EU/S Korea FTA: trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/i…
Also links to the full text of the panel report
tl;dr: the expert panel upholds some of the EU's complaints re S Korea (too limited definition of 'worker' and 'trade union'; limits on freedom of association) but not others (another freedom of association point; steps toward ratification of core ILO Conventions)
These trade/labour provisions of the EU/S Korea FTA are similar to those in other recent FTAs, including with the UK. They don't lead to trade retaliation but can put pressure on the other side.

However, EU/UK FTA goes further ->
Under the EU/UK FTA breach of the non-regression and rebalancing clauses *can* lead to trade retaliation.

My overview of Brexit deal dispute settlement: eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2021/01/analys…

On the parallel Brexit deal environmental rules by @mwgehring - eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2021/01/analys…
A longer overview of the panel report on labour rights and the EU/S Korea FTA here:

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More from @StevePeers

Steve Peers Profile picture
20 Jan
CJEU, external relations

AG opinion: non-EU countries (in this case, Venezuela) have standing to sue in EU courts to challenge foreign policy sanctions against them
CJEU, asylum law

New judgment - case referred from UK - social and financial support from clan/family is not sufficient to count as non-state protection to justify cessation of refugee status of Somalis: curia.europa.eu/juris/document…
This is the first UK case the CJEU has decided *after* the end of the transition period. It still has jurisdiction to decide cases which were referred from UK courts before the end of that period (about 18 are pending).
Read 6 tweets
Steve Peers Profile picture
14 Jan
The bonfire of workers' rights begins.

A couple of points...
On EU retaliation under the Brexit deal, the test is not whether the reduced standards have a "material impact on competition" (as the article claims).

It's whether the reduction of standards takes place "in a manner affecting trade or investment".
Retaliation by the EU would be subject to the dispute settlement system of the Brexit deal. I discussed that process here: eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2021/01/analys…
Here's a summary of how the basic rules on dispute settlement work. But it's fast tracked for disputes like these...
Read 11 tweets
Steve Peers Profile picture
14 Jan
In the "who proposed what re musicians' visas" argument, the Downing Street quote here is very vague
independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…
However this claim from the culture minister is untrue. The EU proposal to clarify the meaning of "paid activities" related to a limited number of people for a short term, not to free movement of workers generally.
Here's the proposed text, which as you can see only refers to certain groups of people. It refers back to the proposed text on short term travel, not to longer term migration.
Read 6 tweets
Steve Peers Profile picture
14 Jan
CJEU, irregular migration

New judgment: Dutch govt breached EU law by simply waiting to expel 15-17 year olds until they turn 18, rather than checking if there are adequate reception facilities for them.
CJEU, asylum law

New judgment: Ireland breached EU law by refusing asylum seekers who were subject to the Dublin system access to employment while they stayed in Ireland pending appeal against their transfer: curia.europa.eu/juris/document…
Note that some of the asylum seekers concerned were challenging their transfer to the UK, although this aspect wasn't addressed in the judgment.

Whether they can still be transferred is up to how UK/ Ireland deal with pending cases (withdrawal agreement doesn't address this).
Read 7 tweets
Steve Peers Profile picture
13 Jan
Seeing a lot of this. Quite apart from the 🤡 argument that "the disadvantages of leaving justify leaving", it's implicitly ignorant/dishonest about the rest of the world.
The government wanted a "Canada deal". Ok: meat products must be hermetically sealed. Fruit and vegetables might be banned - inspection.gc.ca/food-safety-fo…
What about an "Australia style deal" (ie no deal), in which it was claimed we would "prosper mightily"?

No fruit. Probably not your own food. No food from the plane. Import permit for ham - abf.gov.au/entering-and-l…
Read 4 tweets
Steve Peers Profile picture
10 Jan
I've seen the suggestion that the UK/EU trade agreement could be challenged by British businesses in the EU courts.

Three points.
First, standing to sue directly in the EU courts is subject to strict rules. It is very unlikely that UK businesses challenging the TCA will have standing.

They could, however, ask a national court to ask the CJEU to rule on the validity of the EU signing/concluding the treaty.
Second, there needs to be a substantive legal argument. This is conceivable, although the CJEU has tended to leave political discretion to the EU institutions as regards the content of trade policy.

"It's more difficult for UK businesses" is *not* a legal argument.
Read 6 tweets

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