The ONE major legal convention that could wreak havoc on Britain's Brexit

THE LUGANO CONVENTION is causing tensions to rise between the EU and the UK. Why could this major legal convention could wreak havoc on Britain's Brexit?

The UK may have left the European Union at the beginning of 2020 but this has stopped a myriad of issues regarding how the UK and EU will work together in the future. One major source of contention is the Lugano Convention, a major international legal framework, which the UK dropped out when it left the bloc.

The Lugano Convention was established in 2007 and is an international treaty negotiated by the EU.

Its purpose is to provide legal clarity and safeguarding across borders, making litigation more accessible between countries.

The convention covers all EU states as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland - and the UK used to be a part of this as well.

But the EU has now rejected the UK’s application to join the Lugano Convention, which could negatively affect millions of British citizens, and is particularly important for businesses.

In the commission's official statement, it said: "The Commission takes the view that the European Union should not give its consent to the accession of the United Kingdom to the 2007 Lugano Convention.

“For the European Union, the Lugano Convention is a flanking measure of the internal market and relates to the EU-EFTA/EEA context.

“In relation to all other third countries the consistent policy of the European Union is to promote cooperation within the framework of the multilateral Hague Conventions.

“The United Kingdom is a third country without a special link to the internal market. Therefore, there is no reason for the European Union to depart from its general approach in relation to the United Kingdom.