Addressing the European Union committee of the House of Lords on Tuesday 1 May, Britain’s Brexit Secretary David Davis said he was open to the European Parliament’s proposal for an association agreement with the United Kingdom, depending on the terms.
The minister warned that this kind of deal could also serve as a stepping stone to EU accession. In March, the European Parliament put forward the idea of such an agreement (already applied with Ukraine), which frames trading or other relations, the idea being that the agreement remains based on a free trade agreement.
On Wednesday, the UK government was to discuss its intentions regarding the country’s future customs policy. The government has ruled out remaining in customs union but the House of Lords considers such a solution would allow the Irish border issue to be resolved.
On 30 April, moreover, the British House of Lords adopted an amendment to the draft legislation on Brexit, giving the UK Parliament the power to prevent the government from leaving the EU if there is no deal struck with Brussels. The EU’s negotiator, Michel Barnier, said on Monday 30 April during a trip to Ireland that he still considered the “no deal” hypothesis plausible, given that the Irish question has still not been settled. The amendment adopted on Monday gives members of Parliament the possibility of “suggesting new negotiations”, if not deciding to remain in the EU. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)