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The UK government is being urged to set out what it will do if its objectives become different from Jersey's during the Brexit negotiations.
Recently a top House of Lords committee pointed out that the Island has a positive relationship with the UK government, but warned that it is only when the Brexit negotiations really begin that the true strength of that relationship will be discovered, particularly if Jersey's and UK's priorities are not the same.
Today, their warning has been echoed by the House of Commons' Justice Committee, who are urging the UK government to explain how it will handle a situation in which its interests differ from Jersey's - given that it is the UK government which is essentially negotiating with the EU on the Island's behalf.
Tomorrow, the UK PM Theresa May is due to trigger the formal 'divorce' proceedings between the UK and the EU, and end the phoney war which has been running ever since the UK's Brexit referendum in late June.
In today's report, the Commons committee says that:
"There is no current suggestion of any divergence between the UK’s and the Crown Dependencies’ interests in relation to Brexit negotiations. If one were to arise, it may well be handled satisfactorily in the terms that the Government has laid out to us. However, the current approach does not guarantee this, and is unclear in ways that might become unhelpful to the Islands.
"The UK is likely to follow Brexit with a series of major trade talks with potential implications for the Crown Dependencies, demonstrating that their need for effective engagement and representation in international affairs will continue to be pressing after the UK leaves the EU. We recommend that, in its response to this report, the Government clarify its position on representing any of the Crown Dependencies’ interests that di er from the UK’s own in Brexit negotiations and thereafter."
The report goes on to clarify that potential differences between the UK and Jersey may arise over the Island's status as an international finance centre, and it seems that local representatives who gave evidence to the committee raised this point:
"Various representatives and residents of the Crown Dependencies used the terminology of ‘bargaining chips’ and ‘collateral damage’ when asked about their fears: it is at least logically possible, for example, that in the context of hostility from some EU Member States towards the Islands’ financial sectors, the UK is presented with the option to further its own interests at the expense of the Crown Dependencies."
"It appears that the UK will ‘recognise’, ‘work together to resolve or clarify’, and ‘seek to represent’—but not ‘guarantee to represent’—any of the Crown Dependencies’ interests that differ from its own. The meaning of this distinction could be made clearer; we are concerned that it might be interpreted as the UK stepping back from its previous commitments."
The Commons report notes that the UK government was "non-committal" about Jersey representing its own interests with the EU.
This morning, senior Jersey Ministers have welcomed the report:
We welcome Justice Committee report which acknowledges positive engagement between UK & Crown Dependencies on Brexit https://t.co/2U0V0Xw4VS
— Philip Bailhache (@JerseyDiplo) March 28, 2017
Today's Justice Committee report on #Brexit & CDs welcomes our aim of preserving existing relationships with UK https://t.co/ZFMKoIgpo2
— Senator Ian Gorst (@Ian_Gorst) March 28, 2017
You can read the full Justice Committee report here.
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