WGPlus (Archive)

Return service; the EU pots call the UK kettle ‘black’

The Conference of Presidents endorsed a motion for a resolution drawn up by the leaders of four political groups and the Constitutional Affairs Committee, in which they set out their conditions for a final approval by the European Parliament of any withdrawal agreement with the UK. The draft resolution will be debated and voted on by the full house next Wednesday.

The motion attaches great importance to fair treatment of EU-27 citizens and stresses the need for reciprocity & non-discrimination between UK citizens living in the EU and EU citizens living in the UK.

The UK must continue to both enjoy all its rights and respect all its obligations under the EU Treaty until it leaves, including financial commitments under the current EU long-term budget, even if those go beyond the withdrawal date.  This also means that the UK must continue to accept the 4 freedoms, the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, general budgetary contributions and adherence to the EU’s common trade policy until it leaves.  MEPs insist on the importance of addressing the issue of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

MEPs agree that talks can start on possible transitional arrangements based on plans for the future relationship between the EU and the UK, but only if & when good progress has been made towards the withdrawal agreement.   A future relationship agreement can only be concluded once the UK has actually left the EU and a transitional arrangement may not last longer than 3 years.

Editorial Note;   So the EU can ‘blackmail’ us over agreeing a ‘divorce bill’ before any trade discussions, but it is ‘unreasonable for us to point out they have no automatic right to our security assets/information and that perhaps they (& especially Germany which can afford it) ought to pay their fair share of the cost of European security (including NATO).  After all when the UK leaves the EU, 80% of the EU’s defence forces will be paid for by countries outside the EU!
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EU News:  Brexit: MEPs set out conditions for approving UK withdrawal agreement

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