Government preparations for Brexit inquiry

Published 26 February 2019.

The government respectfully disagrees with the Committee on a number of points, including progress on Europol, the feasibility of a security agreement by the end of the Implementation Period, and its handling of security risks, while noting other conclusions and setting out its position on the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration.

• On the Committee's concern about a capability gap, the government says it "respectfully disagree[s]" that a security agreement cannot be agreed and ratified by the end of the Implementation Period. It says both sides will do preparatory work before withdrawal in March 2019.
• On Europol, the government "respectfully disagrees" with the Committee's assertion on progress. It says the Political Declaration includes agreement to continue cooperation through Europol, while "the precise details" will be a matter for the next stage of negotiations.
• On risk and transparency, the government "strongly disagree[s]" that it is either complacent or not transparent. It says it has set out the implications of various scenarios and describes Interpol as "not a like-for-like replacement for SIS II".
• On border preparations, the government says it is working with other departments on its future approach and is recruiting "circa 600 additional Border Force officers" for EU exit requirements. No date is stated for the Committee's requested statement on programmes.

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