UK Gov't to Publish Great Repeal Bill White Paper - Brexit Secretary

According to the UK Secretary of State for Brexit David Davis, the UK government will publish a white paper on the so-called Great Repeal Bill.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The UK government will publish a white paper on the so-called Great Repeal Bill, UK Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis said Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the government published the document outlining its Brexit plans.

"In terms of clarity and certainty, we recognize the need to provide it wherever we can during a period where some uncertainty is inevitable. So we’ll bring forward another white paper on the Great Repeal Bill," Davis said at the House of Commons.

Moreover, the post-Brexit trade deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union could take in some of the arrangements of the EU Single Marktet, the UK government’s White Paper on leaving the bloc, published Thursday, said.

Last month, UK Prime Minister Theresa May presented 12 points of her Brexit plan, which envisaged the country leaving the EU Single Market. She expressed hope that the bloc and the country would reach a free trade agreement.

"That agreement may take in elements of current Single Market arrangements in certain areas as it makes no sense to start again from scratch when the UK and the remaining Member States have adhered to the same rules for so many years. Such an arrangement would be on a fully reciprocal basis and in our mutual interests," the document reads.

The UK government’s White Paper on leaving the European Union reiterates that the United Kingdom wants the bloc to succeed, UK Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis added.

"It reiterates our firm view that it’s in UK’s interest for the European Union to succeed politically and economically," Davis said at the House of Commons.

What regards relationship with Ireland, the UK seeks to preserve its historic strong ties to Ireland and maintain a common travel area after exiting the European Union, the government said in a white paper published on Thursday.

"Maintaining our strong and historic ties with Ireland will be an important priority for the UK in the talks ahead. This includes protecting the Common Travel Area (CTA)," the white paper stated.

The paper noted that more than 14,000 people regularly commuted between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said last month that the United Kingdom would not remain a member of the EU single market after Brexit, raising concerns that a physical border would be reinstated between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The government white paper reiterated May’s comments that the United Kingdom will seek "as frictionless a border as possible" between the two countries.

Northern Ireland's Alliance party, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Fein have called for a deal for Northern Ireland that would continue to allow the free movement of people and goods across the border.