Finland to decide how Britain votes on EU laws after Boris Johnson pulls officials out of meetings before Brexit

Britain’s vote will be delegated by power of attorney to Finland

Finland will decide how Britain votes on new EU laws and regulations, thanks to Boris Johnson’s decision to pull British diplomats out of meetings in Brussels early.

The prime minister announced earlier this month that the UK would stop participating in EU meetings, in an attempt to signal to Brexiteers that he was serious about leaving the bloc at the end of October.

But the decision leaves the UK government with a reduced influence over new EU legislation, which will affect the UK for some time to come.

Because the UK is still entitled to a vote, the decision on how it should be cast will be delegated by power of attorney to Finland, which is the current rotating chair of the European Council.

Under the arrangement, the UK’s votes will be used “in a way that does not prevent the EU from moving ahead”, according to a letter from UK officials to other European diplomats. An alternative approach of simply having the UK abstain would have been potentially disruptive to the balance of power in the council.

A spokesperson for the European Commission welcomed the arrangement and said the UK approach was consistent with its commitments not to disrupt the workings of the bloc.

“We take note of the letter sent by the UK permanent representative to the European Union,” she told reporters in Brussels.

“The letter states that the United Kingdom remains committed to the duty of sincere cooperation and will not stand in the way of the conduct of EU business during the time.

“So far as the commission is concerned we consider this to be in line with the UK’s obligations as a member state, and in keeping with the April European Council conclusions, which took note of the UK’s commitment to ‘facilitate the achievements of the union’s task and refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the union’s objectives in particular participating in the decision-making process of the union’.”

The UK’s representation by MEPs in the European parliament is not affected by the decision. The UK will stop attending council meetings from 1 September.

Asked about the situation in the UK and whether the commission thought a no-deal Brexit could be stopped by MPs, the spokesperson added: “We have no comment to offer on the internal democratic processes in one of our member states.”