EU leader and Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat [official website] stated on Thursday that an essential part of any transition deal [Guardian report] with Britain will include application of EU law in the UK even after Brexit, which provoked an almost immediate response [BBC report] from a high ranking member of parliament in the UK who said that such a deal is “the worst possible scenario for the EU and the UK.” Muscat added that this “is not a transition period where British institutions take over, but it is a transition period where the European court of justice is still in charge of dishing out judgments and points of view.” This is the first time that an EU leader has publicly demanded that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) [official website] be part of any transitional deal and it comes after UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s [official website] statement that she would take the UK out of the ECJ’s jurisdiction. Muscat’s comments also reflected a change in EU’s position. EU officials are now more willing to accept Britain’s preferred choice to negotiate Brexit on a sector-by-sector basis as opposed to doing it all at once. However, Muscat highlighted that the final Brexit deal must occur by October 2018 so that it can be ratified by the EU parliament [official website] within a maximum of two months. Malta’s view on this matter is consistent with that of many European governments in that they all want UK to leave the EU before the next European elections in early 2019. May, who stated previously [BBC report] that UK is “not leaving only to return to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice” is now under pressure to toughen her country’s negotiating stance.

A majority of British citizens voted in a referendum to leave the EU. The vote, an extension of British discontent with the EU, defied the suggestions of economists and British leaders, leading to the resignation of Prime minister David Cameron [JURIST report]. The implications of this move extend beyond just immigration, though, as many believe this separation will negatively affect the British economy, which will likely be cut off from the EU’s single market unless an agreement between the two can be reached. While the vote has fallen in favor of departure, no legal changes have taken place yet [Guardian report], as Britain must take further steps to confirm its separation. The UK Supreme Court [official website] heard an argument [JURIST report] last month that the referendum vote to leave the EU is not legally binding in an appeal of a ruling [JURIST report] in November where it was argued that only Parliament has the authority to trigger the UK’s exit from the EU. The EU has set out a mechanism for leaving in Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, where a member state “may decide to withdraw from the union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements,” and “must notify the European council of its intention.” Under Article 50, a member country can only be removed from the EU two years after notification. While Britain might bypass this process through repeal of the European Communities Act of 1972, it is believed that this would make coming to a preferential trade agreement with the EU more difficult.