Last week UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed Parliament for five weeks. This prorogation process triggered massive outrage among MPs, especially the opposition, as it has widely been interpreted as an attempt to prevent Parliament from holding the government accountable for the way it handles Brexit.
There are currently two legal challenges that Johnson’s cabinet is facing. The court in London refused to give a judgement, stating that prorogation is something for the government to decide and not a court issue, while the Scottish Court of Session found the suspension unlawful. Right now both rulings are being appealed (the latter by Johnson). The Supreme Court is to make a decision by Thursday.
If the Supreme Court judges that the prorogation is legal and not done with the intention of limiting the power of democracy, Parliament will remain on a break. However, if they do not, it is not entirely clear in what manner or how soon Parliament can be recalled.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson had an uneventful day in Brussels yesterday. The PM met with Jean-Claude Juncker, Michel Barnier, and the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel. Though Johnson claimed in an interview that progress was being made, EU representatives stated that the UK government has still not presented any proposals worth considering. Johnson was supposed to appear in a joint outdoor press conference with Bettel but decided not to, due to loud anti-Brexit protesters. Bettel, on the other hand, decided to appear alone and heavily criticized the UK government for not bringing in any solid ideas to the negotiations table.
