After an unprecedented vote on 4 December 2018, MEPs ruled that the UK government was not respecting Parliament because it refused to give Parliament full legal advice on the consequences of its proposed withdrawal terms. [29] The focus of the consultation was on the legal effect of the “backstop” agreement for Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom with regard to the CUSTOMS border between the EU and the United Kingdom and its impact on the Good Friday agreement that led to the end of the unrest in Northern Ireland, including whether , according to the proposals, the UK would be certain that it would be able to leave the EU in a practical sense. The reception of the agreement in the House of Commons ranged from cold to hostile, and the vote was delayed by more than a month. Prime Minister May has received a motion of no confidence within her own party, but the EU has refused to accept further changes. The full text of the agreement is here. A more detailed legal analysis of the agreement can be found in lawyer Martin Howe QC`s articles on lawyers for Britain: “The firm`s legal advice on backstop in Northern Ireland and in particular “Withdrawal Agreement: the Northern Ireland Protocol is neither a “backstop” nor a “temporary shutdown” and “political declaration does not save us from the trap of the withdrawal agreement.” The withdrawal agreement provides for a transitional period until 31 December 2020, during which time the UK will remain in the internal market, to ensure the smooth flow of trade until a long-term relationship is concluded. If no agreement is reached by then, the UK will leave the single market without a trade deal on 1 January 2021. The withdrawal agreement is closely linked to a non-binding political declaration on future relations between the EU and the UK. On 13 November 2018, the EU decided that “decisive progress” had been made in the Brexit negotiations, and on 14 November the European Commission and the UK Government published a draft withdrawal agreement as well as three protocols (on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, the SOVEREIGN territories of the United Kingdom in Cyprus and Gibraltar) and nine annexes. The text of the negotiated withdrawal agreement and the political declaration on the framework for future EU-UK relations were approved by EU heads of state and government at a specially convened European Council on 25 November 2018. The United Kingdom has opted for a regime that requires EU citizens to apply for a new resident status known as “settled” or “pre-settled.” It is not yet clear whether each EU-27 will exercise its discretion under the withdrawal agreement to force British residents to apply for a new resident status. The most important elements of the draft agreement are:[21] If the EP approves the agreement by a simple majority to be “finalised” (ratified) by the EU, it will have to be adopted by the overqualified majority of the European Council of the remaining 27 Member States (20 of the OTHER EU-27 representing 65% of the EU-27 population).