Negotiators from the European Parliament, represented since 1 April by a new rapporteur in the person of the Bulgarian, Sergei Stanishev (S&D), and those from the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, reached an agreement on Tuesday 2 April over a joint text on legislation allowing British citizens – in the event of leaving the EU with or without an agreement – to stay in the EU for a period of 3 months without needing a visa.
The text had been blocked due to controversy over a footnote added by the EU Council that described Gibraltar as a British colony. The British rapporteur, Claude Moraes (S&D), had to let go of this report on Monday 1 April on suspicion of obstructing the adoption of a text including the term 'colony' (see EUROPE 12226/12).
The Civil Liberties Committee will vote on the text on April 3, while the Permanent Representatives of the Twenty-Eight voted in favour of this preliminary agreement on April 2. The agreed text would therefore effectively use the term ‘colony’, since the EU Council has repeatedly indicated that it would not compromise on the content of its mandate, saying on Tuesday that it was "satisfied" with the outcome of the trilogue, one source reported.
It remains to be seen whether the members of the Civil Liberties Committee will accept the coup de théâtre of 1 April or whether they will continue to put the case on hold given that a no deal could take place as early as April 12. EUROPE will continue to follow this. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)