The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) on Monday 20 January sent its recommendations on the implementation of the UK's agreement to withdraw from the EU and its aspirations for the future strategic relationship between the two blocs, to the committee responsible for Constitutional Affairs (AFCO).
The AFCO Committee will vote on the withdrawal agreement on Thursday 23 January, before the European Parliament plenary is asked to ratify it at a mini-session in Brussels on Wednesday 29 January.
In its recommendations, which were approved by a large majority, the LIBE Committee wants first and foremost to ensure that the impact of Brexit on European citizens is as limited as possible.
It notes that, overall, the provisions of the withdrawal agreement provide a degree of legal predictability and certainty, but remains concerned that citizens of Northern Ireland will enjoy different rights depending on their nationality.
MEPs also point out that "as things stand at present, at the end of the transition period (post-Brexit), UK nationals will no longer have the right to travel freely from the Member State where they are habitually resident to another Member State".
The committee believes that " further concretisation of citizens’ rights - including free movement for UK nationals in the EU based on a reciprocal approach - should also be an integral part of a future international agreement".
On data protection and the future of security cooperation between the EU and the UK, MEPs point out that continued participation in certain cooperation instruments will require compliance with the principles of the ECHR.
Finally, the elected representatives return to the duplication by the British authorities of data from the SIS Schengen Information System (see EUROPE 12401/13). They call on the EU Council and the Commission "to resolve the problems of this serious violation (...) before any negotiation of the modalities of [bilateral] cooperation".
Link to the opinion letter: https://bit.ly/2RaTCaR (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)