Brexit To-Do list, CNN

Editorial illustrations for an article on CNN International article about 50 things the UK needs to do on the way to Brexit.
Story: Kara Fox, Judith Vonberg and Angela Dewan.

Security
The May government has proved nosier than most of its EU counterparts -- last year, Parliament passed the Investigatory Powers Act, better known as the “Snooper's Charter,” which gives law enforcement agencies unprecedented access to personal data and requires telecommunications companies to store web browsing histories for a year. But the EU has strict data protection laws -- including one directive, for example, that states EU countries must guarantee that information is stored or accessed only if the user has been informed and been given the right of refusal. The EU in December handed down a judgement ruling the bill effectively illegal. When the UK leaves the EU however, the judgement will be rendered invalid.

Cost of air travel
Air travel between EU countries has become much more affordable since the EU removed several competition barriers, allowing budget airlines to flourish. According to the Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, outside the EU British airlines such as EasyJet won't be able to take advantage of these benefits and will need to make new agreements to operate in EU airspace. The impact this could have on prices is currently unclear.

Asylum seekers and refugees
The UK has opted out of most EU legislation on migration, but an exception is the Dublin III regulation, which creates a system that enables EU member states to transfer asylum seekers back to the first safe EU country they entered. Since asylum seekers often reach the UK after traveling through other European countries, such as Italy and Greece, the UK transfers far more asylum seekers back under this rule than it receives. The rule will no longer apply after Brexit so these countries won't be obliged to receive asylum seekers whom the UK wants to send back. If the UK wants to preserve the principle of Dublin III, the government will have to negotiate separate arrangements with individual European countries.

CO2 Emissions
The UK follows the EU Emissions Trading System, the cornerstone of the EU’s climate change policy and the world’s first and biggest carbon market. Under the ETS, a cap is set on the total amount of certain greenhouse gases that can be emitted, and is reduced over time so that total emissions fall. The EU ETS is now in its third phase – where a single, EU-wide cap on emissions applies in place of the previous system of national caps. If the UK leaves the ETS, the EU-wide cap will need to be adjusted to preserve the intent of other member states' budgets and legislation introduced to keep the UK's CO2 emissions in check.

Gender equality
Under its Strategic Gender Equality plan, the EU allocated 6.17 billion euros between 2014 and 2020 to reach certain targets, such as reducing the gender pay gap, preventing and combating violence against women and getting more women involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The UK government will need to decide how to fill this funding gap, post-Brexit. In his 2017 spring budget speech, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond pledged to commit £20 million of government funding to support a nationwide campaign to stop violence against women and girls. Hammond also reinstated the controversial “tampon tax,” a 5% tax placed on the sanitary item, which will be used to deliver an additional £12 million in support of women’s charities nationwide, according to Hammond.

The future of coloring in
The EU is currently attempting to introduce new measures which will limit the amount of lead allowed in toys and items that may be chewed on by children. Some British media characterized this as Brussels clamping down on coloring pencils and crayons. According to the European Chemicals Agency, the average lead content in the blood of European children is up to four times higher than what is suggested. EU toy safety regulations are some of the toughest in the world. It is unclear if the UK will stick to these rules or consider adopting legislation similar to the EU's proposal on lead levels.

Save the bees
Neonicotinoid pesticides -- used on crops that attract pollinators -- have been strongly connected to the declining bee population. Although their use was restricted by the EU in 2013, the UK granted authorization to use the EU-banned pesticides on rape seeds two years later -- a move suggesting the pesticides could potentially be reintroduced on an emergency basis with more frequency once the UK leaves the EU.

Bendy bananas
The EU rules on bananas have long been the subject of mockery. According to the 1994 regulation, bananas must be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature," more than 14 centimeters in length and be in bunches of at least four. Other parts of the regulation state the fruit must be free from pests and mostly free of bruises. Bananas might be bendier after Brexit -- but could they be less appetizing too?

Irish dairy
For Irish dairy farmers straddling the Northern Irish and Republic of Ireland border, Brexit could mean new import and export taxes if the common travel area gets a hard border. This could mean significant costs as 30% of the total of Irish dairy exports went to the UK. Farmers who have cows and a bottling plant on one side of the border, but with the milking equipment on the other side, could be hit with three import/export taxes if a hard border is introduced. As of now, it's not clear if the flexible common travel area that exists between Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, which will remain in the EU -- although the British government stated they "aim to have as seamless and frictionless a border as possible" in the 77-page "white paper."

Medicine
Under mutual recognition licensing, if you license a medical product in the UK, that product can circulate throughout the EU. At a recent hearing, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt confirmed that after Brexit the UK won't be part of the European Medicines Agency, the body responsible for authorizing new medicines, and instead hopes to negotiate its own form of mutual recognition agreement with the EU.