European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019
The European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019, commonly informally referred to as the Benn Act after the MP Hilary Benn who introduced it, is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that required the Prime Minister of the UK to seek an extension to the Brexit withdrawal date — then scheduled for 31 October 2019 — in certain circumstances. The main provisions of the Act were triggered if the House of Commons did not give its consent to either a withdrawal agreement or leaving without a deal by 19 October 2019. The Act proposed a new withdrawal date of 31 January 2020, which the Prime Minister was obliged to accept if the proposal was accepted by the European Council.
The Act also contained provisions that detail the course of action if an alternative date were proposed by the European Council, require regular reports on the progress of any negotiations between the EU and the UK, and set out the format of the letter the Prime Minister was required to send to the President of the European Council should he be required to seek an extension. It also removed the discretion of the Prime Minister not to amend exit day in response to an extension. The Act was given Royal Assent on 9 September 2019 and commenced the same day.
Contents of the Act
The Act contains four substantive sections and a schedule that contains the form of a letter to request an extension of the negotiating period:
Section 1 obliges the Prime Minister to request an extension to the Article 50 negotiating period for the purpose of negotiating a withdrawal agreement, unless the House of Commons has passed a motion which either approves a withdrawal agreement or approves departure without a deal, and the House of Lords has debated the same motion. If such a motion is not approved, the Prime Minister is obliged to make the request no later than 19 October 2019.
Section 2 obliges the Government to publish a progress report on negotiations before 30 November 2019, and if rejected or amended, publish a second report which details its plans for further negotiations. Section 2 also obliges the Government to make progress reports every four weeks from 7 February 2020 unless directed otherwise.
Section 3 obliges the Prime Minister to accept an extension to 31 January 2020, and allows the Prime Minister to either accept an offer or ask the House of Commons to accept an offer of any other date.
Section 4 amends legislation to ensure the date of departure is synchronised with European law.
The Schedule specifies the required layout and wording of the letter that requests the extension.
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