The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (Exit Day) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2019

Statutory Instruments

2019 No. 859

Exiting The European Union

The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (Exit Day) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2019

Made

at 3.15 p.m. on 11th April 2019

Laid before Parliament

at 4:15p.m.on 11th April 2019

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1

The day on which the Treaties(1) are to cease to apply to the United Kingdom in accordance with Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union is different from that specified in the definition of “exit day” in section 20(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018(2).

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 20(4) of that Act(3), makes the following Regulations.

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (Exit Day) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 and come into force immediately after they are made.

Amendment to the definition of “exit day”

2.—(1) Section 20 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (interpretation) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1), in the definition of “exit day”, for the words from “means—” to “(and”, substitute “means 31 October 2019 at 11.00 p.m. (and”.

(3) In subsection (2), for the words from “Act—” to the end of the subsection, substitute “Act references to before, after or on exit day, or to beginning with exit day, are to be read as references to before, after or at 11.00 p.m. on 31 October 2019 or (as the case may be) to beginning with 11.00 p.m. on that day.”.

James Cleverly

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Exiting the European Union

At 3.15 p.m. on 11th April 2019

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the definition of “exit day” in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16) (“the 2018 Act”) and come into force immediately after they are made.

In accordance with the European Council decision on 22nd March 2019 (European Council Decision (EU) 2019/476, O.J. No. L 80 I, p.1), an extension to the period in Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union was agreed between the United Kingdom and the European Council. As a result, the Treaties of the European Union (“the Treaties”) were due to cease to apply to the United Kingdom at 11.00 p.m. on 12th April 2019.

On 11th April 2019 a further extension of the period in Article 50(3) was agreed between the United Kingdom and the European Council (European Council Decision (EU) 2019/584, O.J. No. L 101, p.1). As a result, the Treaties instead cease to apply to the United Kingdom at 11.00 p.m. on 31st October 2019.

Regulation 2 amends the definition of “exit day” in section 20(1) and (2) of the 2018 Act to ensure that it reflects the new day and time that the Treaties cease to apply to the United Kingdom in light of the further extension.

(1)

“The Treaties” has the meaning given in section 20(5) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16).

(2)

2018 c. 16. The definition of “exit day” in section 20(1) and (2) was amended by regulation 2 of S.I. 2019/718.

(3)

Paragraph 14 of Schedule 7 (procedure for regulations amending the definition of “exit day”) to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16) was amended by section 2 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019 (c. 16).