EU leaders called on the UK, the evening of Monday 24 May, to respect the UK’s withdrawal agreement from the European Union, including the Northern Ireland Protocol, as well as the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in force since 1 January, and to behave “fairly” in implementing these agreements, European Council President Charles Michel said.
While the discussion on this point was “relatively quick” after an evening dominated by debates on Belarus and Russia (see other news), it was an opportunity for the EU27 to “affirm European unity” and to stress that they are “ready to use all legal means” at their disposal to enforce these agreements, he added.
Alongside him, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, did not conceal the existence of “tensions, particularly over access to British waters and the implementation of the protocol”. And these tensions “must be resolved on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement”, she stressed, convinced that “there is no alternative to the implementation of the Protocol”. “This is the only way to ensure peace while protecting the integrity of our single market”, and it is our “common duty with the UK to do everything possible to reduce tensions”.
In its conclusions, the European Council recalls that the two agreements “allow for the EU to have as close as possible a partnership with the UK”, while recognising that a “non-member of the EU cannot enjoy the same benefits as a member” and that the relationship must be based on a balance of rights and obligations at all times.
“Relations with the UK should remain mutually beneficial and can under no circumstances undermine the integrity of the Single Market, the Customs Union or the EU’s decision-making autonomy”, the conclusions also state.
See the European Council conclusions: https://bit.ly/2T5tS39 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Camille-Cerise Gessant and Mathieu Bion)