Member States' ambassadors to the EU approved, on Monday 24 February, in the Committee of Permanent Representatives, the Commission's negotiating mandate for the future relationship with the United Kingdom, after a final meeting to clarify the level playing field. This mandate will be formally adopted on Tuesday 25 February by the European affairs ministers at the General Affairs Council meeting.
At this final Ambassadors' meeting, some changes in language were made, with greater precision regarding the request made in London to ensure a level playing field over the longer term.
A synthesis was found between non-regression requirements and dynamic alignment requirements over time, although the concept of alignment is not included in the mandate text.
The text of the mandate, according to the Financial Times, thus continues to refer to corresponding standards to be followed over time, using EU standards "as a benchmark". This concerns the areas of State Aid, public enterprises, the environment, social standards or tax issues as well.
For "each of these areas", the mandate further states, it will be required to put in place adequate mechanisms to ensure the effective implementation of these principles, including arbitration mechanisms.
The discussion, according to a diplomatic source, also focused on the paragraph concerning digital trade. Changes have been made on a provisional basis so as not to bind the Twenty-Seven too closely together while their internal work on the digital act is not yet complete.
During this meeting, some statements were also reportedly made about the weekend press reports referring to London's intention to distance itself from the withdrawal agreement and not to carry out checks in the Irish Sea as planned, as reported by The Sunday Times.
The withdrawal agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol, which entered into force on 1 February, involve new checks and procedures for goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
According to The Sunday Times, London is seeking to evade Irish Sea checks on goods passing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and to ‘get around’ the protocol.
Asked about this, Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant, recalled on Monday that the agreement had been "signed and ratified by both parties; it must be implemented".
In this context, "we expect our partner to respect their legal obligations", a very important element "to have full confidence in our partners".
In theory, EU and British experts are due to meet soon to set up the group responsible for implementing the protocol and to establish the risk criteria for goods destined for Northern Ireland and potentially for the Republic of Ireland that will have to be controlled by the British. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)