Over a dinner, to which British Prime Minister Theresa May was not invited, the European leaders restricted themselves to a short twenty-minute discussion on the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (Brexit). The EU27 mainly agreed on the procedures to be respected during the negotiations – which will begin once Article 50 of the Treaty has been triggered in March. The EU27 leaders reiterated the firm principles that will be demanded of London, especially the “indivisibility of the freedoms of the single market”, as European Council President Donald Tusk stated, and the fact that there can be no negotiations before the UK has formally asked to leave. They also approved the mandate of the European Commission’s negotiator, French national Michel Barnier (see EUROPE 11683).
The European Parliament’s place in the debate. The role of the European Parliament was addressed, especially on the basis of a letter expressing concern from its president, Martin Schulz, who fears that the Parliament may be marginalised and presented with a fait accompli once the negotiations are over. Earlier in the day, Schulz had described the idea of not involving the Parliament in the negotiations as “madness”. He had warned that MEPs will ultimately have to approve the treaty allowing the divorce with the UK. In the end, the EU27 therefore agreed to involve the Parliament’s representatives in the preparatory meetings of the ‘sherpas’ and permanent representatives. “This is a sign of our resolve to cooperate. Right from the start, our intention has been to have the best cooperation possible between institutions”, Tusk said – even if, in his view, it is the Commission that must lead the negotiations.
The discussion was “short”, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel commented. In her opinion “there is no urgency as Article 50 has not been triggered”. “We had a discussion of principle, not on the substance of the negotiation. The principles are, to be very clear, that there cannot be any challenge to the principles of free movement if the UK wants to have access to the single market, that there can be no pre-negotiation before the UK triggers Article 50, and that the Commission will be the UK’s discussion partner, with the Council giving the guidelines with the European Parliament being involved in all stages of the process”, France’s President François Hollande stated. According to Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny, Theresa May apparently asked at the meeting of the EU28 that a solution be found to the start of the negotiations on the situation of British nationals in the member states and vice versa. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Aminata Niang and Emmanuel Hagry)