On Wednesday 16 January in Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved, almost unanimously, the text resulting from the inter institutional negotiations on the allocation of tariff quotas at the WTO between the European Union of 27 Member States and the United Kingdom.
Discussions between representatives of the European Parliament and Member States on the Commission’s proposal, which began in mid-November 2018, were quickly concluded (see EUROPE 12130). The Committee on International Trade (INTA) had approved the provisional agreement reached during the talks in December; in plenary, MEPs have now confirmed their support for the text by 626 votes in favour, 18 against and 42 abstentions.
The list of tariff quotas, mainly agricultural, is to be divided between the EU-27 and the United Kingdom before Brexit is finalised. The allocation method, agreed upon with London, subtracts from the total British share quota, based on its use of that quota over a recent three-year representative period, expressed as a percentage of the EU. The proposal gives the Commission delegated powers to amend the Regulation appendices in order to take into account any agreement reached at the WTO (see EUROPE 12114).
Parliament’s report, drawn up by Mrs Quisthoudt-Rowohl (EPP, Germany), particularly proposed that the amendment of these appendices should not extend the current level of market access. The proposal contains the list of quotas and their distribution in the appendix.
The new quotas will apply following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.
To view the proposal and report: https://bit.ly/2RPQK4r. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)