The Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) of the European Parliament is calling for an interinstitutional agreement with the European Commission that allows the European Parliament to be involved and informed, and on an equal footing with the Council of the European Union, in respect of the governance of the EU/UK bilateral agreement (see EUROPE 12637/2).
In its letter to the Committees on External Affairs and International Trade on Thursday 4 February (see other news), the AFCO Committee sets out the elements that such an interinstitutional agreement should contain: - the European Parliament’s full involvement in the preparation of the EU positions on amending the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; - the guarantee of the European Parliament receiving thorough and timely information ahead of and following all decisions of all joint bodies provided for in the bilateral agreement; - the obligation to seek the consent of the European Parliament regarding each substantial modification or suspension of the agreement; - the European Commission's commitment to take action when the European Parliament identifies breaches of the bilateral agreement; - the inclusion of Parliament’s representatives in EU delegations, in particular at meetings of the Joint Partnership Council.
MEPs have noted that the provisional application of the EU/UK agreement can in no way be considered a precedent and that it is solely because it was so important at the end of 2020 to avoid the “chaos” that a lack of agreement would have caused at the start of 2021.
The committee welcomes the establishment of a binding dispute settlement mechanism, although certain areas of activity are exempt from this and are subject instead to specific mechanisms. There is also regret that the bilateral agreement excludes any role for the Court of Justice of the European Union in interpreting concepts of EU law, in contradiction with the Joint Political Declaration of the EU and the United Kingdom that set out the guidelines for negotiating the bilateral agreement.
See the letter: http://bit.ly/3awB7Gx (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)