Recommendations on the negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Summary:

Resolution adopted by the plenary of the European Parliament on 18 June 2020, assessing the state of negotiations concerning the post-Brexit relationship between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK).

Further information:

The Resolution regrets the substantial differences between the two sides and the limited time for an agreement to be reached on the future EU-UK relationship. The text emphasises that a comprehensive agreement is in the interest of both parties. However, the UK's seeming intention to 'cherry-pick' certain policies and access to certain sections of the single market is deemed as 'unacceptable'.

The Parliament reaffirms the support to the EU's Chief Negotiator and calls on the UK to respect the commitments set out in the Political Declaration, signed and ratified by both sides. Strict implementation of previous agreement is seen as precondition to ensure the much-needed trust to conclude negotiations successfully. The text further highlights that Parliament’s consent to any future trade agreement with the UK is conditional on the British government agreeing to a level playing field on several fields.

The adoption of the Resolution was preceded by a debate. The report had previously been adopted at committee level.

Official

European Parliament: Press Release, 12/06/2020: EU-UK talks: MEPs united behind EU stance, rejecting UK cherry-picking https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20200611IPR81004/

European Parliament: Press Release, 18/06/2020: EU-UK talks: MEPs display unwavering support for the EU position https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20200615IPR81221/

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News

The Independent, 17/06/2020: Brexit: European Parliament says it won't 'consent' to watered-down trade deal https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-uk-eu-trade-deal-standards-boris-johnson-a9571846.html

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