The European Parliament has drawn lessons from the process initiated by London’s activation (see EUROPE 11757/1) in March 2017 of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which led to the UK’s exit from the EU, in a report adopted on Wednesday 16 February (516 votes in favour, 85 against, 91 abstentions).
Parliament welcomes the fact that, throughout the process, the unity and integrity of the EU was preserved in the negotiations with the UK government, in particular through the identification of key priorities such as the protection of European citizens, the special circumstances of Ireland and the budgetary balance owed by London under the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework.
Nevertheless, MEPs believe that the European Parliament should have been more active in the run-up to the UK referendum in June 2016, which was won by those in favour of Brexit (see EUROPE 11580/1), in order to better inform the British people about European issues. They also believe that the authorities of the exiting country should consult the citizens again at the end of the negotiations with the EU to confirm their choice to leave the EU, especially in case of a ‘no deal’ exit.
Finally, the European Parliament is of the opinion that MEPs should have sufficient time to analyse the agreement negotiated between the EU and an outgoing country, before being asked to give their consent to that agreement.
At the end of 2020, Parliament was forced to accept a provisional application of the agreement on the future relationship between the EU and the UK from January 2021 without having had time to give its formal consent (see EUROPE 12628/6). Such a situation must not be allowed to become a precedent, it warned.
See the report: https://bit.ly/3LROUJI (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)