UK government publishes key plan to exit European Union

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech on modern working practices at the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) in London, on July 11, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The UK government has formally drafted a bill to enact the country’s divorce from the European Union.

"It is one of the most significant pieces of legislation that has ever passed through parliament and is a major milestone in the process of our withdrawal from the European Union," Brexit Minister David Davis said in a statement on Thursday.

The bill proposes the details of transferring EU law into British law, ending the supremacy of the European Court of Justice in the UK. It also authorizes British ministers to amend pieces of legislation that won’t be applicable after London officially bids farewell to the 28-member bloc.

Meanwhile, the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said many differences with Britain remain to be ironed out before talks can start on a trade deal. He called on London to revise its position on citizens’ rights and the role the EU court will play after Brexit.

While Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted that Brexit would only be possible by cutting all ties to the EU and losing access to the Single Market, Britain’s opposition Labour party believes that there could be alternative plans.

The party has threatened to kill the bill in the parliament and  demands changes in the legislation to ensure that the rights of workers are protected.

The bill is a key part of the government's plan to exit the EU in 2019.

Corbyn is set to meet with Barnier in the Belgian capital Brussels on Friday.

The developments came as the UK’s National Health Service warned that Brexit could severely damage the health care sector, adding that the number of nurses registering to work in the UK has dropped quiet dramatically since the Brexit referendum.

Danny Mortimer, Chief executive of NHS Employers said that the NHS is already struggling to fill nursing posts and the UK’s divorce from the EU can cause more problems. The NHS official stressed that more work is needed to ensure European medical workers remain in Britain after Brexit.