Following the General Affairs Council (“Article 50 format”) on Tuesday 27 February, EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned London about the many differences and questions which remain in negotiations on an orderly withdrawal by the United Kingdom from the European Union, when time is limited for there to be, as the EU hopes, agreement to be concluded on the negotiations as a whole by the autumn of this year.
Since the provisional joint agreement on the divorce phase of the talks in December (see EUROPE 11927), little progress has been made and, indeed, little has been negotiated, Barnier regretted.
The former commissioner was referring to the issues of citizens’ rights, the financial settlement and, above all, the Ireland-Northern Ireland issue. On this latter point, he said that the Commission would “operationalise” what is contained on the Irish-Northern Irish situation in Article 49 of the provisional withdrawal agreement, notably the third point on failure to reach a solution (with London) on the full alignment of Northern Ireland with the rules of the single market and the customs union.
This “backstop” is expected to be developed by the Commission in the draft withdrawal agreement it will unveil on Wednesday in view of the UK government’s failure thus far to offer any solutions. This draft withdrawal agreement will be put to both the European Parliament and the UK parliament for ratification following approval by the member states.
The Commission, Barnier said, is ready immediately to open discussions on any other proposal that might be brought by London on the thorny issue of the Irish-Northern Irish border.
The other two options contained in Article 49 of the provisional agreement are, firstly, resolution of the problem (continued cooperation between the two parts of the island of Ireland, no hard border and maintenance of the Good Friday Agreement) through the future relationship between the EU and the UK and, secondly, any other specific solution proposed by the United Kingdom to address the very specific situation of the island. The third option is the one that the Commission will detail on Wednesday: alignment with the customs union and the single market.
In this draft withdrawal agreement, which will set out in black and white, the areas of agreement reached in December and which seeks above all to put added pressure on London to get a move on in resolving the unsettled issues, the Commission will make clear its red lines not only on citizens’ rights and the financial settlement of withdrawal from the EU but also on the post-Brexit transition period.
Barnier repeated the points of divergence on the post-Brexit transition period when the UK will be a third country but will have to comply with EU laws. London is hoping for an indefinite transition period “which is not possible”, Barnier says. Neither will the UK be able to ask for opt-in clauses, allowing it to participate in Community policies, such as in internal affairs, Barnier again made clear.
The UK wants the treatment it reserves for European citizens to be different depending on whether they entered the country before the scheduled withdrawal date (31 March 2019) or during the post-Brexit transition phase. Barnier argues that there can be no difference.
Given these differences, “the transition is not a certainty”, he stated.
On Friday 2 March, UK Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to unveil her government’s vision for the future relationship with the EU.
Like Donald Tusk (see EUROPE 11968), Barnier warned London against the temptation of trying to cherry-pick the policies that suit the UK. It would be an illusion to think that the EU would accept an approach where the UK could identify sectors of activity that would remain under EU regulation and would enjoy access to the single market and others which would not.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said that ministers fully endorsed the progress report given by Barnier on the negotiations and once again approved the way he is going about his business.
Moving towards Parliament resolution on future relationship. Addressing the Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee on Tuesday, Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium), one of the Parliamentary negotiators, said that the Conference of the Presidents of the political groups would submit a draft resolution between now and the March plenary session.
The goal is to have an overview on how to achieve “a very close relationship” based on clearly established principles, he stated. He set out four pillars for cooperation after Brexit: - trade and economic cooperation; - thematic cooperation, such as in research and innovation; - justice and home affairs; - external action. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)