It is a “clear victory”. Like European Council President Charles Michel, the Twenty-Seven congratulated Boris Johnson on his victory in the parliamentary elections on 12 December, a victory that saw the Tories win 368 seats, with the Labour Party far behind with 191 seats.
This victory, which looks like a personal triumph for the British Prime Minister, now allows the Twenty-Seven to take the next step, having had to extend the period of Article 50 of the Treaty twice (see EUROPE 12233/1).
With this victory, it is indeed almost certain that Brexit will take place by 31 January 2020. The Twenty-Seven will therefore be able to start negotiating their future strategic, commercial, security and geopolitical partnership on 1 February.
“Finally, we have clarity and can move forward”, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. “The time for clarity has finally come”, French President Emmanuel Macron echoed, noting that “the hardest part” is yet to come, between the implementation of the UK’s withdrawal agreement reached on 17 October (see EUROPE 12351/2) and the preparation of the future relationship.
To this end, the Twenty-Seven adopted conclusions that recall their key principles on Friday. In them, the European Council underlines its desire to establish the “closest possible” relationship with the United Kingdom. It should be based on a “balance of rights and obligations” and on a “level playing field” and fair competition.
To this end, the Commission is invited to rapidly develop a negotiating mandate to be presented immediately after the country’s effective withdrawal, which the General Affairs Council will be responsible for adopting.
The Twenty-Seven further welcome the appointment of Michel Barnier as head of future negotiations. He must achieve results that are “fair and equitable for all Member States and in the interest of our citizens”.
A tight schedule
This future relationship will in any case have to be built in 11 months, assuming that the United Kingdom does not request an extension of the transitional period, which only runs until 31 December 2020.
According to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, this work will be “complex” given the size of the project. Twenty-Seven will see in July whether the transition period should be extended to achieve this agreement on the future relationship, she said.
For Ms Merkel, the departure of the United Kingdom means that “we will have a competitor on our doorstep”. And this can be positive and lead the EU to work “faster” and perhaps more dynamically, she suggested.
“I want to tell our British friends and allies something very simple: you endorsed the choice made 3 years ago, but you are not leaving Europe, you are staying with us and we are staying with you”, said Emmanuel Macron.
For the French President, three principles should guide the future relationship: “First, the development of the closest possible relationship in terms of trade, but also security and defence; guaranteeing the unity of the EU and the definition of our strategic interests, which we will define in early February in a negotiating mandate”.
The timetable is “extremely tight”, said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. He noted the broad convergence of views among the Twenty-Seven that the future relationship should not focus on “just trade”. However, he acknowledged that with diverging interests between the Member states, “we must remain together and maintain solidarity and unity”.
For her first European Summit, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reiterated that the Twenty-Seven were “ready” to move on to the next phase. The timeline being very tight, “we are ready to make the most of this period”. The United Kingdom will certainly become a third country, but “this is not the end, this is the beginning” of another phase with an “unprecedented” partnership, the President commented.
See the declaration of the Twenty-Seven: http://bit.ly/35pmFfS (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with the editorial staff)