“Despite its efforts to do so”, the European Parliament will not be able to ratify a possible agreement between the European Union and the British government on the post-Brexit relationship this year. This is the somewhat bitter conclusion issued by the European Parliament contact group and its leader, David McAllister (EPP, Germany), on Monday 21 December, after the deadline of Sunday evening 20 December set by MEPs (see EUROPE 12625/11) had expired.
On Monday, the teams of EU negotiator Michel Barnier and UK negotiator David Frost were still discussing and trying to find a solution on fisheries, one of the last obstacles to an agreement on the future bilateral relationship.
The continuation of the negotiations puts Parliament in a very uncomfortable situation. In the last few days, it still wanted to be able to analyse and vote on a possible agreement with the intention that it would enter into force on 1 January 2021. It has also made it known, again in recent days, that it is not in favour of provisional application of the agreement without prior ratification. However, it is not in a position to impose any decision on the provisional application of a free trade agreement on the Member States or the European Commission.
“Ratification is no longer technically possible, that’s the way it is”, a disappointed Parliament source said.
Some group leaders such as German Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP group, certainly argued that the institution could be “creative”. But this creativity did not manifest itself on Monday 21 December.
“We will see if the European Parliament still convenes a Conference of Parliament groups” to discuss it, says another source.
Meanwhile, the talks still looked difficult on Monday evening, when the British government again reiterated its refusal to ask for an extension of the post-Brexit transition period beyond 1 January. This extension is no longer legally possible on the EU side, as an extension of the transition period should have been requested before the end of June.
Contingency measures, applied on a reciprocal basis, could make up for the effects of a lack of agreement on 1 January (see EUROPE 12626/26). Or there could be a last-minute arrangement between the two parties, as suggested by Irish television broadcaster RTE late Monday. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)