Parliament appoints Guy Verhofstadt as representative on Brexit matters

9 Sep 2016 10:12 AM

The Conference of Presidents yesterday appointed Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, BE) as European Parliament point man for Brexit negotiations.

As counterpart of Michel Barnier, negotiator for the European Commission, Guy Verhofstadt will keep the Conference of Presidents (comprising the EP President and group leaders) fully informed of developments and will help prepare the EP position in the negotiations, in close consultation with the Conference of Presidents.

The European Parliament will need to approve a possible agreement on the conditions for the UK’s departure from the EU.

Once article 50 of the EU Treaty has been triggered by the UK authorities and the European Council has adopted the negotiation guidelines, Mr Verhofstadt will also work closely with the Chair of the Constitutional Affairs committee, Danuta Hübner (EPP, PL), and other committees wherever necessary to shape the EP’s negotiating position.

Guy Verhofstadt, who is leader of the ALDE Group, also led negotiations on behalf of the European Parliament for the inter-institutional agreement on Better Law Making, adopted by the European Parliament on 9 March 2016.

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