P9_TA(2020)0152

Recommendations on the negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

European Parliament recommendation of 18 June 2020 on the negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2020/2023(INI))

(2021/C 362/12)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Article 218 of the TFEU,

— having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

— having regard to Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/266 of 25 February 2020 authorising the opening of negotiations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for a new partnership agreement (1) and the directives set out in the addendum thereto for the negotiation of a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which have been made public,

— having regard to its resolutions of 5 April 2017 on negotiations with the United Kingdom following its notification that it intends to withdraw from the European Union (2), of 3 October 2017 on the state of play of negotiations with the United Kingdom (3), of 13 December 2017 on the state of play of negotiations with the United Kingdom (4), of 14 March 2018 on the framework of the future EU-UK relationship (5), of 18 September 2019 on the state of play of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (6), of 15 January 2020 on implementing and monitoring the provisions on citizens’ rights in the Withdrawal Agreement (7), and of 12 February 2020 on the proposed mandate for negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (8),

— having regard to the draft text of the Agreement on the New Partnership with the United Kingdom of 18 March 2020 (9);

— having regard to its legislative resolution of 29 January 2020 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (10),

— having regard to the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (11) (‘the Withdrawal Agreement’) and to the accompanying political declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom (12) (‘the Political Declaration’),

— having regard to the opinions from the Committee on Budgets, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Fisheries, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Petitions,

— having regard to the letters from the Committee on Development, the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee on Culture and Education and the Committee on Legal Affairs,

— having regard to Rules 114(4) and 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the joint deliberations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on International Trade under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on International Trade (A9-0117/2020),

A. whereas the Political Declaration is the yardstick for the negotiations and establishes the parameters of an ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership across trade and economic cooperation with a comprehensive and balanced Free Trade Agreement at its core, law enforcement and criminal justice, foreign policy, security and defence and wider areas of cooperation; whereas the European Union (EU) mandate, adopted by the Council on 25 February 2020 on that basis, constitutes the negotiating framework that envisages a strong and comprehensive partnership between the EU and the UK, forming a coherent structure and an overall governance framework; whereas the EU will not accept the UK's piecemeal approach, which seeks to negotiate a series of separate, self-standing agreements;

B. whereas the EU mandate is based on the European Council guidelines of 23 March 2018 and the Political Declaration;

C. whereas the negotiations on the future partnership with the United Kingdom (UK) can only be premised on the effective and full implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and its three protocols;

D. whereas the EU should maintain its efforts and determination to negotiate an ambitious agreement as clearly provided for in the Political Declaration, to which both parties, including the UK Prime Minister, signed up on 17 October 2019, and the EU mandate; whereas the UK ceased to be a Member State of the EU on 31 January 2020;

E. whereas the current time pressure in the negotiations is merely the result of the UK's choices;

F. whereas the future agreement should be embedded in an overall governance framework and whereas the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) should be the sole body responsible for interpreting EU law;

G. whereas during the transition period, EU law across all policy areas, is still applicable to, and in, the UK, with the exception of provisions of the Treaties and acts that were not binding upon, and in, the UK before the Withdrawal Agreement entered into force; whereas on the 14th of May 2020, the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against the UK for failure to comply with EU rules on free movement;

H. whereas the withdrawal of the UK from the EU affects millions of citizens, UK citizens living, travelling or working in the EU, EU citizens living, travelling or working in the UK; and people other than EU and UK citizens;

I. whereas, as a third country, the UK cannot have the same rights and enjoy the same benefits and cannot be subject to the same obligations as a Member State and the situation in both the EU and the UK will therefore change significantly at the end of the transition period; whereas the EU and the UK share fundamental principles and values; whereas the UK's geographical proximity, level of interconnectedness and high level of existing alignment and interdependence with EU rules should be taken into account in the future partnership agreement; and whereas, as the EU has made clear from the start, the more privileges and rights the UK seeks, the more obligations will come attached;

J. whereas the EU and the UK agreed in the Political Declaration to convene at a high level in June 2020 to take stock of progress with the aim of agreeing action to move forward with negotiations on their future relationship; whereas, at the end of the High Level Meeting of 15 June 2020, both Parties issued a joint statement noting, inter alia, that new momentum was required;

K. whereas unity of the EU and its Member States throughout the negotiations is essential in order to defend the interests of the EU, including those of its citizens in the best possible way; whereas the EU and its Member States have remained united throughout the negotiation and adoption of the Withdrawal Agreement and ever since; whereas this unity is reflected in the adoption of the negotiating mandate entrusted to the EU negotiator and Head of the EU Task Force Michel Barnier, who enjoys the strong support of the EU and its Member States;

L. whereas the EU and UK agreed in the Political Declaration that the future relationship should be underpinned by shared values such as the respect for and safeguarding of human rights and fundamental freedoms, democratic principles, the rule of law, an international rules-based order including the UN Charter and support for non-proliferation, principles of disarmament, peace and security as well as sustainable development and protection of the environment and that those values are an essential prerequisite for cooperation within the framework of the Political Declaration, which should be expressed in terms of binding political clauses as well as being matters of mutual trust; whereas while the EU will remain bound by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the agreement on the future relationship must be conditional on the UK’s continued commitment to respect the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR);

M. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has created a totally unexpected and unprecedented new situation, which has significant consequences on the rhythm and efficiency of the negotiations between the EU and the UK; whereas, if an agreement cannot be reached, both sides would have to be prepared for very dramatic changes to their economies, which will be aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its expected economic consequences; whereas facing a global pandemic and its foreseeable geopolitical, economic and social consequences reinforces the necessity to improve cooperation mechanisms between partners and allies;

General principles

1. Regrets that, following four rounds of negotiations, no real progress has been achieved, with the exception of very small openings in a limited number of areas; notes the substantial divergences between the EU and the UK, including on the scope and the legal architecture of the text to be negotiated; expresses deep concern at the limited scope of the future partnership envisaged by the UK Government and its piecemeal approach to negotiations only on areas that are in the interest of the UK: reiterates that such a ‘cherry-picking’ approach is unacceptable for the EU; points out that the UK’s proposals fall short of its commitments under the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration, to which the UK agreed, including its refusal to negotiate an agreement on security and defence matters;

2. Reiterates that the EU stands firm in its position that tangible progress must be achieved in all areas of negotiations in parallel, including on the level playing field, fisheries, internal security and governance, as outlined in the Political Declaration; emphasises that all negotiations are indivisible and the EU will not agree to a deal at any cost, in particular not to a free trade agreement (FTA) without having robust level playing field guarantees and a satisfactory agreement on fisheries; thus fully supports the Commission in defending the need for a comprehensive draft treaty as proposed by the EU at the outset, instead of agreeing to separate agreements as proposed by the UK;

3. Insists that any agreement on a new relationship between the EU and the UK must be coherent and adapted to the geographical proximity of both parties and to the high level of interconnectedness of both parties’ economies;

4. Welcomes the publication, even if belatedly, of the UK’s draft legal proposals; notes that, contrary to the UK's claims of using existing precedents, many of those proposals go significantly beyond what has been negotiated by the EU in other FTAs with third countries in recent years; recalls that any final agreement must be based on a balance of rights and obligations;

5. Welcomes the fact that there is a high level of convergence between the negotiating objectives expressed in Parliament’s resolution of 12 February 2020 and in Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/266 of 25 February 2020 authorising the opening of negotiations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for a new partnership agreement ( 13 ) (‘the negotiating directives’); emphasises that the Commission has Parliament’s full support in negotiating with the UK in accordance with the negotiating directives, as all three institutions broadly share the same objectives in terms of what those negotiations should achieve;

6. Welcomes the EU’s draft text of the Agreement on the New Partnership with the United Kingdom, published on 18 March 2020, which proposes a comprehensive agreement for a deep and close partnership, covering not only free trade in goods and services but also ways to prevent distortions and unfair competitive advantages, including those related to the agricultural sector, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and state aid, and to establish a favourable climate for the development of trade and investment;

7. Calls on the Commission to continue conducting negotiations transparently as this benefits the negotiation process and is also beneficial for citizens and businesses as it allows them to better prepare for the post-transition phase; urges the Commission to ensure, in that respect, public consultation and constant dialogue with social partners and civil society, as well as with national parliaments; welcomes the Commission’s practice of providing regular and timely information to the Parliament on the negotiations, and expects that practice to continue, in line with the information that is shared with the Member States;

8. recalls that any future association agreement concluded between the EU and the UK pursuant to Article 217 of the TFEU (‘the Agreement’) must be in strict concordance with the following principles: (i) a third country must not have the same rights and benefits and does not comply with the same obligations as a Member State of the EU, or a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) or European Economic Area (EEA); (ii) protection of the full integrity and proper functioning of the internal market and customs union, the indivisibility of the four freedoms; in particular, the degree of cooperation in the economic pillar must be in accordance with commitments made to facilitate the mobility of people, such as visa-free travel, the mobility of researchers, students, temporary service providers and business travellers, and cooperation in the field of social security; (iii) the preservation of the autonomy of the EU’s decision-making; (iv) the safeguarding of the EU legal order and the role of the CJEU as the ultimate body responsible for interpreting EU law in that respect; (v) continued adherence to democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms, as defined in particular in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ECHR and its protocols, the European Social Charter, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other international human rights treaties of the UN and the Council of Europe, and respect for the principle of the rule of law recalls in particular that the future relationship should be made conditional on the UK's continued commitment to respect the framework of the ECHR; (vi) a level playing field, including for business, ensuring high equivalent standards in social, labour, environmental and consumer protection, the fight against climate change as well as taxation, competition and State aid policies, including through a robust and comprehensive framework on competition and State aid control. That level playing field must be guaranteed through effective dispute settlement and enforcement mechanisms including on the trade and sustainable development chapter; recalls in particular that any future agreement should be made fully conditional on respect for the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the ‘Paris Agreement’); (vii) the precautionary principle, the principle that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source, and the polluter pays principle; (viii) the safeguarding of EU agreements with third countries and international organisations, including the EEA Agreement, and maintaining the overall balance of those relationships; (ix) the safeguarding of the financial stability of the EU and compliance with its regulatory and supervisory regime and standards and their application; (x) the right balance between rights and obligations, including, where appropriate, commensurate financial contributions; (xi) the guarantee of an outcome that is proper and fair for all Member States and in the best interests of our citizens;

9. Underlines that the EU Chief Negotiator has the Parliament's full and unwavering support for insisting that level playing field guarantees are a crucial element of any agreement with the UK, as this is not dogmatism or ideology from the EU's side but a prerequisite to establishing an ambitious and balanced partnership with the UK and preserving the competitiveness of the internal market and EU companies, as well as maintaining and developing in the future high levels of social, environmental and consumer protection;

10. Respects fully in this regard the sovereignty of the UK, which the EU has no intention of undermining in the current negotiations; recalls, however, that the UK will never be equal to other third countries due to its status as a former EU Member State, current complete regulatory alignment, and the significant volume of trade between both parties, as well as its geographic proximity to the EU, which all explain the necessity for strong and robust level playing field provisions in the agreement;

11. Underlines that the EU should keep up its efforts and engagement to negotiate an agreement, as it has always indicated in the Political Declaration and in the negotiating directives, on the following parts: trade and economic cooperation, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, foreign policy, security and defence, and thematic areas of cooperation such as cooperation on sustainable development; calls for a pragmatic and reasonable approach on both sides;

12. Emphasises the importance of being fully prepared for the UK’s withdrawal from the internal market and the customs union at the end of the transition period, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations; stresses that the consequences will be even more significant should no agreement be reached,; points out, however, that the EU is ready for either scenario;

13. Welcomes, in that regard, the Commission’s sector-specific ‘readiness notices’, which seek to ensure that EU industry is ready for the inevitable shock that the UK’s withdrawal from the internal market will cause; calls on the Commission and Member States to enhance their efforts in order to fully inform EU citizens and businesses of the risks that the transition period might end before an agreement is reached, in order to allow for adequate preparedness;

14. Underlines the importance of stepping up and properly financing preparedness and contingency measures well ahead of the end of the transition period, especially in the event of a stalemate in negotiations; stresses that such contingency measures should be temporary and unilateral;

15. Reiterates its support for the negotiating directives, which provide that Gibraltar will not be included in the territorial scope of the agreements to be concluded between the EU and the UK, and that any separate agreement will require the prior agreement of the Kingdom of Spain;

16. Emphasises the importance of implementing the provisions of the Protocol on Gibraltar regarding frontier workers, taxation, the environment and fisheries; calls on the Spanish and the UK Government to ensure that the necessary cooperation is put in place to deal with those issues;

17. Recalls that Article 132 of the Withdrawal Agreement provides the possibility for the Joint Committee to adopt by 30 June 2020 a decision extending the transition period beyond 31 December 2020; acknowledges the UK’s decision, following the Joint Committee meeting of 12 June 2020, not to consider an extension of the transition period; underlines that the EU remains open to such an extension;

Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement

18. Recalls that the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement is the instrument for implementing the arrangements for an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU that it is not subject to any renegotiation and that the sole purpose of the EU-UK Joint Committee is to oversee its implementation; underlines that the effective implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement is a precondition of, and basic element for ensuring, the trust needed for the successful conclusion of an agreement with the UK and is a litmus test for the good faith that the UK has committed to bring to the negotiating process;

19. Insists on seeing tangible progress as early as possible and having solid guarantees that the UK will implement the Withdrawal Agreement effectively and in its entirety before the end of the transition period, stresses that monitoring its implementation is an integral part of the work of the Parliament and reiterates that, in accordance with Article 218(10) TFEU, Parliament is to be immediately and fully informed of all the discussions held and decisions taken by the Joint Committee, and will remain vigilant and fully exercise its prerogatives; recalls, in that context, the commitment made by the President of the European Commission to Parliament’s plenary on 16 April 2019 as well as the obligations stemming from Council Decision (EU) 2020/135 of 30 January 2020; calls on the co-chairs of the Joint Committee to actively involve citizens and civil society organisations in their deliberations;

20. Recalls that the Withdrawal Agreement provides for reciprocal protection for EU and UK citizens, including their family members, who should be provided with all the necessary information with regard to their rights and to the procedures to be followed to continue living, working and traveling within or to their country of residence; recalls that citizens affected by the UK’s withdrawal rely on timely and reliable information regarding their rights and status and urges both the Member States and the UK to prioritise that matter; urges the Member States to fully respect and protect the rights of UK citizens living in the EU under the Withdrawal Agreement and to give them all the information they need and legal certainty about their situation and rights, including whether they are implementing a constitutive or a declaratory residence scheme;

21. Reiterates that citizens' rights will remain an absolute priority and is determined to ensure that citizens’ rights are guaranteed under the Withdrawal Agreement for both EU and UK citizens and their families; urges the EU and the UK to strive towards a high level of mobility rights in the future agreement; regrets the fact that the UK has so far shown little ambition with regard to citizens’ mobility, which the UK and its citizens have benefitted from in the past;

22. Expresses concern at reports that EU citizens under pre-settled status were denied social benefits in the UK due to bureaucratic obstacles; underlines that such situations constitute undue discrimination and have significant consequences, especially at a time of severe economic and social uncertainty;

23. Stresses that EU citizens in the UK are experiencing significant problems in obtaining settled status, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; considers the number of cases granted pre-settled status to be disproportionately high in comparison with the number of cases granted settled status; urges the UK Home Office to be flexible in accepting evidence provided by applicants that they have been in the country for the five years required; is also concerned that applicants are not issued with any physical proof of the status they have been granted;

24. Calls on the parties to ensure the strict implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, as this is a precondition for the successful conclusion of the future agreement; recalls that that Protocol was designed and adopted in order to respect the peace process and uphold the Good Friday Agreement, ensuring the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland while protecting the integrity of the internal market, and is crucial for businesses, in particular the agri-food sector, protection of citizens, the environment and biodiversity; underlines the importance of free movement of EU citizens and free movement of services on the island of Ireland in order to limit damage to the all-island economy and that a future agreement should cover this issue; urges the UK authorities to ensure that there is no diminution of rights for citizens in Northern Ireland;

25. Expresses concern at the UK Government’s public statements showing a lack of political will to comply fully with its legal commitments under the Withdrawal Agreement, namely regarding checks on goods in the Irish Sea;

26. Recalls that important decisions are due to be taken by the EU-UK Joint Committee on the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland before the end of the transition period;

27. Hopes that an agreement can be found between the EU and the UK on all institutional arrangements, such as the creation of a technical office of the European Commission in Belfast despite the repeated refusal expressed by the UK authorities to authorise the opening of such an office; stresses that the UK needs to present a detailed timetable and proceed with the necessary measures, such as preparing for implementing the Union customs code and the introduction of customs procedures for goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain, and ensuring that all necessary SPS controls as well as other regulatory checks can be carried out in respect of goods entering Northern Ireland from outside the EU, which is also necessary to create clarity for businesses;

28. Underlines the importance of clear legal rules, transparent implementation and effective control mechanisms to avoid systemic risks for VAT and customs fraud, trafficking (smuggling) or other fraudulent misuse of a potentially unclear legal framework, including from the increased risk of wrongful declarations of origin and products not intended for the internal market; calls on the Commission to carry out regular and efficient checks and controls and regularly report back to Parliament regarding the border control situation;

29. Notes that the term goods ‘at risk of subsequently being moved into the Union’ used in Article 5 of that Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland depends on subsequent decisions of the Joint Committee and insists that such decisions are taken under European Parliament scrutiny; requests to be kept fully informed on the application of that Article and any proposals for decisions of the Joint Committee with regard to the application of that Article, such as the establishment of the specific criteria for a good to be considered ‘at risk’, or on the amendment of any of its previous decisions;

30. Recalls that the end of the transition period, the UK is obliged to contribute, inter alia, to the financing of the European Defence Agency, the European Union Institute for Security Studies, and the European Union Satellite Centre, and to the costs of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations, in which it participates;

31. Underlines the fact that the UK must implement all pre-existing EU restrictive measures and sanctions and any decided during the transition period, must support EU statements and positions in third countries and international organisations, and participate on a case-by-case basis in EU military operations and civilian missions established under the CSDP, yet without any leading capacity within a new Framework Participation Agreement, while respecting the EU’s decision-making autonomy and the relevant EU decisions and legislation, including on procurement and transfers in the field of defence; asserts that such cooperation is conditional on full compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law and EU fundamental rights;

Economic partnership

Trade

32. Takes note that the UK has chosen to establish its future economic and trade partnership with the EU on the basis of a ‘Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement’ as laid down in the document published by the UK Government on 27 February 2020 entitled ‘The Future Relationship with the EU — the UK’s Approach to Negotiations; emphasises that, while Parliament is supportive of the EU constructively negotiating a balanced, ambitious and comprehensive FTA with the UK, by its nature an FTA will never be equivalent to ‘frictionless’ trade; shares the position set out in the negotiating directives, jointly adopted by the 27 Member States, that the scope and ambition of an FTA that the EU would agree to is conditional on and must have a direct link with the UK agreeing to comprehensive, binding and enforceable provisions related to the level playing field, given the size, the geographical proximity, the economic interdependence and connectedness, the integration of markets, as well as on the conclusion of a bilateral agreement on fisheries, as an integral part of the partnership; reaffirms that no trade agreement can be concluded between the EU and the UK if it does not include a complete, sustainable, balanced and long-term fisheries agreement, upholding the continuation under optimal conditions of existing access to waters, resources and markets in accordance with common fisheries policy (CFP) principles and adopted before the end of the transition period;

33. Notes that, contrary to the UK’s claim of relying on existing precedents, many proposals in the UK draft legal proposals go significantly beyond what has been negotiated by the EU in other FTAs with third countries in recent years, for example in the area of financial services, mutual recognition of professional qualifications and conformity assessment, equivalence of the SPS regime, or the cumulation of rules of origin; supports the system of a bilateral cumulation system, the most appropriate, since it involves supporting integration between the EU and the UK, and not with the third countries with which the EU has concluded FTAs, and an ad hoc mechanism against ‘swap’ risks ( 14 ) should be provided for;

34. Deeply regrets, in that regard, that the UK has so far refused to engage, notwithstanding its commitment taken in the Political Declaration, for instance on public procurement, maritime transport and the protection of future geographical indications (GIs), especially as the UK did include some of those topics in its negotiation mandates with the US and Japan; furthermore regrets that the UK has so far not submitted a proposal on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);

35. Recalls that the continued shared commitment to a zero quotas, zero tariffs objective for the trade relationship remains an essential condition for the timely conclusion of an agreement within the extremely tight timeline that the UK itself has imposed on these negotiations, especially as previous experience has clearly demonstrated that a tariff-line by tariff-line negotiation could take several years; expresses concern at the intention of the UK Government to move away from that objective; highlights that agricultural goods would probably be most affected, given remaining non-zero tariff lines in FTAs usually affect this sector; reiterates in that regard that, irrespective of whether 100 % or less tariff-lines are scrapped, this will not alter the EU’s demand for robust level playing field conditions; reiterates that the level playing field provisions must maintain environmental, social and employment standards at high equivalent levels over time, relying on appropriate and relevant EU and international standards, and including appropriate mechanisms to ensure effective implementation domestically, as well as include a robust and comprehensive framework for competition and state aid control that prevents undue distortion of trade and competition instead of referring to subsidies only, as the UK regrettably does;

36. Encourages in this regard the Commission to seize the momentum caused by these negotiations to enhance competitiveness for European companies and SMEs; stresses that the Agreement should aim to allow for market access and trade facilitation as close as possible in order to minimize trade disruptions; encourages the Parties to set up SME contact points and calls overal for a stable, transparent and predictable legal framework not imposing a disproportionate burden on SMEs;

37. Stresses that for an FTA to truly promote the EU’s interests, the negotiations should aim to achieve the following objectives as laid down in Parliament’s resolution of 12 February 2020, in particular paragraph 14 thereof, the provisions of which continue to be fully valid; in addition emphasises that the following should be covered: (i) mutually beneficial market access for goods, services, public procurement, recognition of professional qualifications as well as on product rules; underlines moreover the need for stable, reliable and sustainable value chains; (ii) the Commission should evaluate the need for safeguard clauses to protect the integrity and stability of the EU internal market such as from unexpected import surges, fraud and circumvention of trade defence measures; (iii) commitments on anti-dumping and countervailing measures should go beyond World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules in that area, as appropriate, and commitments and enforcement possibilities on competition and state aid; (iv) rules on development and facilitation of digital tradeshould address unjustified barriers to trade by electronic means, including data localisation requirements, should preserve EU’s regulatory autonomy, and ensure an open, secure and trustworthy online environment for businesses and consumers, provided that the UK online retailers comply with the relevant internal market rules and provided that the UK provides a level of protection essentially equivalent to that offered by EU legal framework, including on onward transfers to third countries; (v) any SPS measures should be based on risk assessments, with full respect for the precautionary principle; (vi) GI protection enshrined in the Withdrawal Agreement are not negotiable; the future agreement should also protect and uphold GIs registered after the end of the transition period; (vii) include robust prudential carve-outs in order to legally guarantee both parties’ rights to regulate in the public interest; (viii) recalls that the consequences of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on gender equality should be taken into account, including by ensuring a level playing field for EU actions protecting and advancing the role of women in economy, for instance in terms of measures combatting the gender pay gap; (ix) partnership achieving long-term climate goals; (x) calls on the Commission and the Member States to take all necessary preparations and precautions for the case of an expiration of the Withdrawal Agreement without an agreement on the future relations, and in particular the trade and economic relations, entering into force on the 1st of January 2021,including contingency measures to reduce as much as possible the harm for workers and enterprises effected; (xi) calls on the Commission to propose measures to reduce the impact on third country trading partners of the Union, in particular developing countries, in case no agreement can be found with Britain, as British imports may have constituted a sizeable share of their exports to the European Union;

Level playing field

38. Regrets the UK’s negotiating position with the EU of hitherto not engaging in detailed negotiations on the level playing field; points out that this position does not reflect paragraph 77 of the Political Declaration signed by the EU and the UK; urges the UK Government, therefore, to urgently revise its negotiating position and engage constructively in the negotiations on the level playing field since is a necessary condition for Parliament to give its consent to a trade agreement with the UK;

39. Reiterates that given the UK’s geographic proximity and economic interdependence with the EU, the breadth and depth of the agreement on a level playing field will be essential in determining the extent of the overall future EU-UK relationship; considers, therefore, that a level playing field that is appropriate to the level of ambition and liberalisation of the Agreement for regulatory convergence in line with the Political Declaration must be provided for and EU standards safeguarded as a condition in order to avoid a ‘race to the bottom’ as well as measures having an unjustified and disproportionate damaging effect on trade flows, with a view to dynamic alignment; including for state aid; stresses the need to ensure that the UK does not gain an unfair competitive advantage through the undercutting of levels of protection and to prevent regulatory arbitrage by market operators;

40. Recalls its determination to prevent any kind of ‘dumping’ in the framework of the future EU-UK relationship; points out that a key outcome of the negotiations is to guarantee a level playing field in order to preserve competitiveness, high social and sustainability standards, including the fight against climate change and citizens’ and workers’ rights in the future through robust commitments, enforceable provisions and non-regression clauses with a view to dynamic alignment on: (i) competition and state aid, and any other general or sectoral regulatory measures which should prevent undue distortion of trade and competition and include provisions on state-owned enterprises, including provisions on measures to support agricultural production; (ii) relevant tax matters, including the fight against tax evasion and avoidance and money laundering, terrorism financing as well as financial services; (iii) full respect for the social and labour standards of the EU’s social model (including equivalent levels of protection and safeguards against social dumping), at least at the current high levels provided by the existing common standards; (iv) environmental protection and climate change related standards, a commitment to effectively continue implementing the Paris Agreement, the promotion of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); (v) a high-level of protection for consumers, including product sanitary quality in food sector; (vi) sustainable development;

41. Points out that those provisions should ensure that standards are not lowered, while empowering the EU and the UK to modify commitments over time in order to lay down higher standards or include additional areas in full compliance with the proportionality and necessity principles; stresses, moreover, that commitments and provisions should be enforceable by autonomous interim measures, a solid dispute settlement mechanism covering all areas and remedies, including judicial oversight to provide the EU with the ability to adopt sanctions as a last resort, including in relation to sustainable development with a view to dynamic alignment; underlines that a level playing field requires a horizontal mechanism, such as an overall governance framework covering all areas of cooperation;

42. Emphasises in particular the non-regression clauses in the following areas: (i) fundamental rights at work; (ii) occupational health and safety standards; (iii) fair working conditions and employment standards; (iv) information and consultation rights at company level; and (v) restructuring;

43. Considers the fight against climate change, halting and reversing biodiversity loss, promoting sustainable development, the environment, and major health issues should constitute essential elements of the envisaged partnership; notes that the Commission committed itself in its communication on the European Green Deal to making respect for the Paris Agreement an essential element of all future comprehensive trade agreements;

44. Stresses that a ‘ratchet clause’ for future levels of protection is not sufficient, as it does not provide for a level playing field or incentives to raise ambition levels, and considers that should either EU or the UK increase its level of climate or environmental protection, the other party should ensure that its standards and targets offer at least an equivalent level of climate or environmental protection;

45. Strongly believes that the UK should adhere to the evolving standards on taxation and anti-money laundering legislation and terrorism financing within the EU acquis, as well as worldwide, including tax transparency, the exchange of information on tax matters and anti-tax avoidance measures, in order to ensure a fruitful and trust-based mutual cooperation and should address the respective situations of its Overseas Territories, its Sovereign Base Areas and its Crown Dependencies and their compliance with EU good governance criteria and transparency requirements, particularly on the exchange of tax information, tax transparency, fair taxation, anti-tax avoidance measures and on OECD standards against Base Erosion and Profit Shifting; calls, furthermore, on the EU and the UK to uphold Financial Action Task Force standards; recalls, with regard to Gibraltar, the negotiating directives and the provisions set out in the draft legal text of the EU;

46. Reiterates the need to maintain high standards, clear traceability, high-quality inspection services and a level playing field in the areas of medicinal products, medical devices, food safety and labelling, animal and plant health, animal welfare and veterinary, SPS, and environmental policy and standards;

47. Calls on the Commission to guarantee that existing and future principles and tools in the framework of the social, environmental and climate policies of the EU (e.g. anti-dumping measures, European industrial policy, mandatory due-diligence legislation, EU taxonomy for sustainable investment, do-no-significant-harm principle, carbon border adjustment mechanism, sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector) cannot be legally disputed in the framework of the EU-UK FTA and in future trade agreements;

Specific sectoral issues and thematic cooperation

Internal market

48. Stresses that access to the EU internal market requires, as a precondition, full compliance with EU legislation relating to the internal market;

49. Underlines that dynamic regulatory alignment and provisions ensuring robust market surveillance that help enforce the rules on products, including those on product safety and traceability, and ensure legal certainty for EU businesses coupled with a high level of protection for EU consumers, should be an essential and irreplaceable part of any future agreement aimed at ensuring a level playing field;

50. Recalls that, in any event, a new agreement will lead to customs checks and verification before goods enter the internal market and insists that safeguarding the compliance of goods with internal market rules is of the utmost importance;

51. Underlines the importance of maintaining close and structured cooperation on regulatory and supervisory matters, at both political and technical levels, while respecting the EU’s regulatory regime and decision-making autonomy;

52. Highlights the importance of ensuring reciprocal arrangements for the recognition of qualifications and diplomas and encourages both parties and in particular professional bodies and authorities to develop and provide further joint recommendations on the recognition of professional qualifications, in particular in the context of the Partnership Council;

Financial services

53. Is of the opinion that the future agreement should include specific provisions on cooperation between the European supervisory authorities and the UK financial supervisory authorities in order to foster regulatory alignment, share supervisory concerns and best practices, as well as to ensure a smooth level of cooperation and to maintain integrated capital markets;

54. Recalls that passporting rights, which are based on mutual recognition and harmonised prudential rules and supervisory convergence in the internal market, will cease to apply between the EU and the UK at the end of the transitional period, as the UK will become a third country; underlines that, thereafter, access to the EU financial market must be based on the EU’s autonomous equivalence framework; recalls, however, the limited scope of equivalence decisions;

55. Highlights that an assessment of the equivalence of UK’s financial regulations will be made by the Commission and that such equivalence can only be granted with full respect for the autonomy of its decision making, and if the UK regulatory and supervisory regime and standards are fully equivalent to those of the EU; calls for that assessment to be made as soon as possible to meet the commitment of the Political Declaration; recalls that the EU can withdraw unilaterally the status of equivalent at any time;

56. Recalls that a substantial amount of euro-denominated derivatives are cleared in the UK, which could potentially have financial stability implications for the EU;

Customs

57. Notes the intention of the UK not to seek the continuation of its current status as regards the internal market and the customs union; underlines the importance of preserving the integrity of the customs union and its procedures, which guarantee the safety and protection of consumers and the economic interests of the EU and of EU undertakings; stresses the need for greater investment in customs controls facilities at common transit points at common borders and, where relevant and appropriate, further coordination and exchange of information with each other as well as include the possibility of a permanent EU office in Northern Ireland dealing with customs compliance;

58. Highlights that any future agreement should establish comprehensive customs cooperation mechanisms to facilitate cross-border trade as well as cooperation mechanisms between customs and market surveillance authorities; furthermore, calls on the EU and the UK, where relevant and appropriate, to work towards simplification of requirements and formalities for customs procedures for traders or operators, including for SMEs;

59. Underlines that the EU and the UK should strive to maintain a high level of convergence of their customs legislation and practices with a view to ensuring effective customs controls and clearing, enforcement of customs legislation and protecting the financial interests of the parties with a capacity to recover undue taxes and duties, in addition to safeguard measures for systematic breaches of applicable customs legislation;

60. Highlights that it would be highly desirable for the UK to maintain the current product classification based on the Integrated Tariff of the European Communities (TARIC) in order to keep procedures simplified and to reduce the regulatory burden;

Consumer policy

61. Stresses that current EU consumer protection standards and citizens’ rights under the EU acquis must be preserved by both parties to any future agreement; believes that the Agreement should ensure added value to EU consumers by providing the best framework for the protection of the rights of consumers and for the enforcement of the obligations of traders;

62. Considers it of outmost importance to guarantee the safety of the products imported from the UK in a way that they would correspond to the EU standards;

63. Stresses the importance of regulatory and administrative cooperation accompanied, where relevant and appropriate, by a parliamentary oversight and non-regression commitments, in order to tackle non-tariff barriers and to pursue objectives of public interest, so as to protect the interests of EU consumers including to ensure a secure and trustworthy environment for consumers and businesses online, as well as to combat unfair commercial practices;

Fisheries

64. Reiterates that no comprehensive agreement can be concluded between the EU and the UK if it does not include a complete, balanced and long-term agreement on fisheries and fisheries-related matters, upholding the continuation under optimal conditions of access to waters, resources and markets of the parties concerned, as well as existing fishing activities;

65. Recalls that the greatest mutual benefit will be obtained by protecting shared ecosystems and sustainably managing their exploitation, by upholding existing reciprocal access to waters and fisheries resources with the aim of upholding existing fishing activities, as well as by defining common, coherent, clear and stable principles and rules enabling mutual open access of fishing and aquaculture products to markets without causing economic or social tensions through unbalanced competition; insists on the need for an overarching governance framework to ensure that any breaches of provisions concerning reciprocal access to waters and resources can be subject to sanctions, including the suspension of preferential tariffs for UK goods in the EU market;

66. Stresses the need to include in the Agreement the distribution percentages that are currently applied for the stocks to be shared between both parties in Annex FISH-2 (Allocation of fishing opportunities), in accordance with the principle of relative stability in force;

67. Calls on the parties to uphold existing quota shares and the stable and constant distribution of fishing rights; stresses the importance of long-term management of resources based on compliance with CFP principles, such as maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and technical measures, its regional management tools such as the Multiannual Plans for the North Sea and the Western Waters, and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which have so far all contributed to the improvement of the state of fish stocks to the benefit of the fleets of both EU Member States and the UK;

68. Stresses that the Agreement must ensure that technical measures or marine protected areas are reciprocal, non-discriminatory and proportionate and do not constitute a de facto way of excluding EU vessels from UK waters; insists that the Agreement cannot lead to a ‘levelling down’ of EU environmental and social standards;

69. Urges the Commission to include provisions on preventing and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities within EU and UK waters;

70. Stresses the need for adequate cooperation and consultation mechanisms, a common scientific approach, and guarantees that the UK will continue to contribute to data collection and the scientific assessment of stocks as a basis for future decisions for joint fisheries management in all shared sea basins; urges the EU and the UK to continue their active and loyal cooperation in matters of fishing control and the fight against IUU fishing;

Citizens’ rights and the free movement of persons

71. Notes with regret that the UK has decided that the principle of free movement of persons between the EU and the UK will no longer apply after the transition period; insists on the need for the future partnership to include ambitious provisions on the movement of persons, based on full reciprocity and non-discrimination among Member States; reiterates the fact that the UK’s access to the internal market must be commensurate with commitments made to facilitate the mobility of people; stresses that the border-crossing regime should not create a burdensome administrative or financial barrier;

72. Stresses the need to pay particular attention to the needs of children from mixed families where only one of the parents is an EU citizen, and to provide appropriate legal mechanisms for resolving disputes between parents, for instance in the case of divorce;

73. Considers that mobility agreements, including visa-free travel for short stays, should be based on non-discrimination between Member States of the EU and full reciprocity and should include the EU acquis on mobility, the rules on the posting of workers and on the coordination of social security systems;

74. Considers that further codification of citizens’ rights through legally binding provisions must constitute an intrinsic part of the text of a future agreement between the EU and the UK; considers that this must include the situation of cross-border workers, whose freedom of movement should be guaranteed, based on non-discrimination and reciprocity; calls for consideration to be given to better regulation of the conditions of entry and residence for purposes of research, study, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects, au pairing and voluntary service in the European Solidarity Corps should be part of the future agreement and not be left to domestic regulation; recalls that the COVID-19 crisis has shown the dependence that vital sectors in the UK, such as public health or agriculture, have on EU workers, including the seasonal workforce;

Labour, mobility and social security coordination

75. Regrets the fact that the UK Government has not yet fulfilled its commitment to enact a new Employment Bill and urges the UK to do so before the end of the transition period; refers in this regard especially to recently adopted EU legislative acts whose transposition deadlines are during the transition period; stresses the utmost importance of avoiding any gaps where workers’ rights are protected neither by existing EU law nor the UK Employment Bill;

76. Recalls the importance of preserving the existing and future social security rights of affected persons in all dimensions; calls on the negotiators of the Agreement to prioritise those citizens’ rights with regard to social security coordination by all means and to provide for continuous application of social security coordination rules in all chapters;

77. Regrets, however, that there are no special provisions provided for regarding unemployment benefits for cross-border and frontier workers, and therefore encourages the EU and the UK to look into proper provisions regarding unemployment benefits for cross-border and frontier workers;

78. Stresses the importance of a dynamic agreement on social security coordination; stresses that provisions of the final agreement on mobility of persons must include commensurate and robust rights as regards social security coordination, in line with the Political Declaration;

Data protection

79. Stresses the importance of data protection both as a fundamental right, as well as a key enabler for the digital economy; notes that, according to the case-law of the CJEU, in order for the Commission to declare the adequacy of the UK data protection framework, it must demonstrate that the UK provides a level of protection ‘essentially equivalent’ to that offered by EU legal framework, including on onward transfers to third countries;

80. acquis as interpreted by the CJEU, and does not, therefore, currently meet the conditions for adequacy; Recalls that the UK Data Protection Act provides for a general and broad exemption from the data protection principles and data subjects’ rights for the processing of personal data for immigration purposes; is concerned that, when non-UK citizens’ data are processed under this exemption, they are not protected in the same way as that of UK citizens and would be in conflict with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 15 ) ; is of the view that the UK legal framework on the retention of electronic telecommunications data does not fulfil the conditions of the relevant EUas interpreted by the CJEU, and does not, therefore, currently meet the conditions for adequacy;

81. Underlines and supports the future partnership being underpinned by commitments to respect fundamental rights, including adequate protection of personal data which is a necessary condition for the envisaged cooperation and by automatic suspension of the law enforcement agreement if the UK were to abrogate domestic law giving effect to the ECHR; calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to the UK legal framework when assessing its adequacy under EU law; advocates taking into consideration CJEU case-law in this field, such as the Schrems case, as well as ECHR case-law;

82. Takes the position that, if the UK does not explicitly commit to enforce the ECHR and will not accept the role of the CJEU, no agreement on judicial and police cooperation in criminal matters would be possible; regrets that the UK has so far refused to provide firm guarantees on fundamental rights and individual freedoms and insisted on lowering current standards and deviating from agreed mechanisms of data protection, including by the use of mass surveillance;

83. Calls on the Commission to take the above-mentioned elements into consideration when assessing the adequacy of the UK legal framework as regards the level of protection of personal data, and to ensure that the UK has resolved the problems identified in this resolution prior to possibly declaring UK data protection law adequate in line with EU law as interpreted by the CJEU; calls on the Commission also to seek the advice of the European Data Protection Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor;

Security, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters

84. Reiterates that tangible progress in the area of security, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters should be achieved in order to allow for an agreement for comprehensive and efficient cooperation to be reached that would be mutually beneficial for the security of EU and UK citizens;

85. Is strongly opposed to the UK’s request to receive direct access to the EU data information systems in the field of Justice and Home Affairs; stresses once more in that regard that the UK, as a non-Schengen third country, cannot have direct access to EU information systems data; cautions that any sharing of information, including personal data, with the UK should be subject to strict safeguards, audit and oversight conditions including an equivalent level of protection of personal data to that provided by EU law;

86. Points out that the Schengen Information System (SIS) legislation explicitly forbids the access of third countries to the system and that, as a third country, the UK cannot have access to SIS; recalls that on 5 March 2020 the Council issued a set of recommendations addressing serious violations in the application of the SIS by the UK and that there is little intention in the UK’s reply to apply those recommendations, in breach of EU law; considers that future cooperation between the EU and the UK in the area of law enforcement and judicial cooperation should be based on mutual trust; underlines that such cooperation can only be agreed to if robust rules on data protection are established and if strong enforcement mechanisms are in place;

87. Points out that the automated exchange of DNA data with the UK under the Prüm Framework was launched only in 2019 and that the Council is about to decide upon the adoption of an implementing decision which would allow the UK to take part in automated exchanges of dactyloscopic data; points out, in that regard, that under the special consultation procedure for the ex-third pillar acts on 13 May 2020 Parliament rejected the Council’s draft decision due to concerns over full reciprocity for fingerprint data exchange, over data protection guarantees, as well as over the very short time for its application; calls on the Council to carefully consider Parliament’s arguments for rejection; reminds the negotiators that, if adopted, the Council decisions authorising those automated data exchanges will expire at the end of the transition period; stresses the need for a timely agreement on new arrangements for the future relationship, given the importance of information exchange in the fight against serious and organised cross-border crime and terrorism;

88. Is concerned that the UK negotiating mandate lacks ambition in important areas of judicial cooperation in criminal matters; believes that a solution allowing for a more ambitious level of cooperation than the one provided for under the European Convention on Extradition could be found by the EU and the UK;

Migration, asylum and border management

89. Stresses the need to agree the terms of cooperation on migration of nationals other than those of the two parties, while respecting fundamental rights, upholding human dignity and recognising the need to protect the most vulnerable; reiterates its call that such cooperation should, at the very least, contain arrangements that enhance safe and legal pathways to access international protection, including through family reunification;

90. Stresses the need for strong cooperation between the parties in order to combat human smuggling and trafficking in human beings, in line with international law, which will remain applicable to the border between the EU and the UK;

91. Insists that the UK cannot ‘cherry-pick’ which elements of the EU asylum and migration acquis it would like to keep;

92. Stresses once again the need for the adoption of a plan on family reunification ready to enter into force at the end of the transition period;

93. As part of such a plan, and also more generally, the Parliament reminds the negotiators of the obligation of both the EU and the UK to protect all children on their territory, and in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (UNCRC calls on the Member States, once concrete proposals are made by the UK, to give a mandate to the Commission to negotiate a plan on family reunification for asylum seekers);

94. Stresses the importance of a coordinated approach by the EU on all those issues, as bilateral arrangements between the UK and individual Member States on issues such as family reunification for asylum seekers or refugees, relocation or readmission arrangements, risk having negative consequences for the coherence of EU asylum and migration policy; calls on both the EU and the UK to strive for a balanced and constructive approach in all those matters;

Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing

95. Calls on the EU and the UK to include provisions on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) policy in the future partnership agreement, including an exchange of information mechanism; recalls that, in the Political Declaration, the EU and the UK committed to go beyond the Financial Action Task Force standards on AML/CFT with regard to beneficial ownership transparency and to end the anonymity associated with the use of virtual currencies, including through customer due diligence controls;

96. Calls on the EU and the UK to include in the new partnership agreement specific provisions regarding the supervision of financial and non-financial obliged entities in the context of the anti-money laundering framework;

Tax matters

97. Calls on the EU and the UK to prioritise a coordinated fight against tax evasion and tax avoidance; calls for the Parties to address harmful tax practices by pursuing acts of cooperation under the EU Code of Conduct on business taxation; notes that the UK is ranked high according to the Commission on indicators that identify a country as having features that can be used by companies for tax avoidance purposes; calls on the future agreement to specifically address this matter; notes that, at the end of the transition period, the UK will be considered as a third country and will have to be screened by the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation according to the criteria established for the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions; calls for the EU and the UK to ensure full administrative cooperation to ensure compliance with VAT legislation and with the protection and recovery of VAT revenues;

The fight against climate change and environmental protection

98. Considers that the UK should fully align itself with the EU’s current and future climate policy framework, including revised 2030 targets, 2040 targets and the trajectories to achieve climate neutrality by 2050;

99. Considers that the UK should implement a system of carbon pricing of at least the same scope and effectiveness as that provided for by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and should apply the same principles regarding the use of external credits by the end of the transition period; further considers that, should the UK request that its own emissions trading system be linked to the EU ETS, the following two conditions for the consideration of such a request should apply: the UK emissions trading system should not undermine the integrity of the EU ETS, in particular its balance of rights and obligations, and should reflect the continuous increase in the scope and effectiveness of the EU ETS; stresses that a system of carbon pricing should already be set and in place ahead of the vote in Parliament on whether to give consent to the draft Agreement;

100. Stresses the importance of ensuring the appropriate monitoring and assessment in the UK of air and water quality in addition to the adoption of the common standards and targets; further stresses the importance of the UK implementing and enforcing the emission limits and other provisions agreed under Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 16 ) and dynamically aligning with Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 17 ) , including updates to the Best Available Technique Reference Documents;

Public health

101. Stresses that, should the UK wish to be included on the list of countries permitted to export goods to the EU that are subject to SPS measures, it will have to fully comply with EU requirements for those goods, including requirements relating to production processes; stresses, in addition, that rules of origin for food products in particular should be fully complied with and that clear rules in relation to the transformation of food products in the UK should be adopted to prevent the circumvention of EU requirements, especially in the context of possible FTAs between the UK and other countries;

102. Stresses that the UK will need to be in line with EU legislation relating to genetically modified organisms and plant protection products; considers that the Parties should aim to reduce the use and risks of pesticides; stresses the need for both Parties to endeavour to reduce the use of antibiotics in animal production and to continue to ban their use as a growth promoter and reduce inappropriate or unnecessary human use;

103. Stresses the importance of preventing shortages of medicinal products and medical devices; urges national authorities and stakeholders to ensure that the process of redistributing nationally authorised medicinal products is concluded by the end of the transition period; calls on the EU and the UK to cooperate over the long term to prevent, detect, prepare for and respond to established and emerging threats to health security; calls, in that regard, for ongoing cooperation between the EU and the UK to effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic; considers that, should one of the parties not take adequate measures to address a health threat, the other party may adopt unilateral measures to protect public health;

104. Stresses the importance of upholding EU legislation on pharmaceuticals, medical devices, chemicals safety, including endocrine disrupting chemicals, while ensuring continued access to medicines and medical devices and underlines the fact that in any case, UK companies would be subject to the same obligations that apply to companies outside the EEA: stresses, in addition, the need to set out strong conditions on SPS measures going beyond the WTO agreement in order to protect the EU’s internal market, and in particular consumers, from any risks related to import or export of products with the UK;

Transport

105. Stresses that the envisaged partnership based on the close economic ties and common interests should provide continued and unhindered connectivity for all modes of transport, subject to reciprocity, and should ensure a level playing field, in particular with regard to social, employment and environmental standards and passengers’ rights; recalls that it should also include the specific situation of the Channel Tunnel, especially with regard to aspects of the safety and authorisation regime;

106. Considers that future cooperation with the UK should envisage transport projects of common interest and encourage good cross-border trade and business conditions, in particular facilitating and assisting SMEs businesses in avoiding any additional administrative burden;

107. Believes that UK participation in EU cross-border research and development programmes in transport, based on common interests, should be envisaged;

108. Recalls the importance of the Commission being the sole EU negotiator during the negotiations and that Member States are not to undertake any bilateral negotiations; however, urges the Commission to represent the interests of each Member State in the final comprehensive agreement;

109. Emphasises that rights and privileges entail obligations and that the level of access to the EU internal market should fully correspond to the extent of regulatory convergence and commitments agreed with respect to observing a level playing field for open and fair competition based on the minimum common standards applicable in the EU;

110. Recalls that aviation is the only mode of transport that does not have any legal WTO fall back in the event that no agreement is reached before the end of the transition period;

111. Considers that the envisaged partnership should include an ambitious and comprehensive chapter on air transport which ensures the EU’s strategic interests, and contains appropriate provisions, on market access, investment and operational and commercial flexibility (e.g. code sharing) in respect of balanced rights and obligations, and should include close cooperation in aviation safety and air traffic management;

112. Stresses that any possible granting of some elements of the so-called ‘fifth freedom’ (freedom of the air) should be limited in scope and needs to include balanced and corresponding obligations in the interests of the EU;

113. Notes that the current European Conference of Ministers of Transport framework, based on a limited number of permits, is not suitable for EU-UK relations, taking into account the extent of freight transported by road between the EU and the UK; in that regard, stresses that appropriate measures should be put in place to avoid threats to public order and prevent disruptions to traffic flows of road haulage operators and coach and bus service operators; underlines in this context the importance of providing improved direct sea routes from Ireland to the continent, thereby reducing the reliance on the UK ‘land bridge’;

114. Emphasises that UK freight transport operators cannot be granted the same rights and benefits as EU freight transport operators in respect to road freight transport operations;

115. Considers that the envisaged partnership should include the right of transit of laden and unladen journeys from the territory of one party to the territory of the same party through the territory of the other party;

116. Considers that the envisaged partnership should include a level playing field in the areas of, in particular, work, driving and rest time, posting of drivers, tachographs, vehicle weights and dimensions, combined transport and training of personnel, as well as specific provisions to ensure a comparable level of protection in relation to operators and drivers;

117. Urges that the fluidity of EU-UK maritime trade, the free movement of passengers, seafarers, offshore and onshore staff should be a priority; in that regard stresses that the EU and the UK should ensure proper border and customs systems are in place to prevent delays and disruptions;

Culture and Education

118. Considers that the Agreement should make clear that it will uphold cultural and linguistic diversity in accordance with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions;

119. Welcomes the clear statement in the negotiating directives that future EU-UK relations should also encompass dialogue and exchange in the fields of education and culture; calls on the Commission to take into account the specific nature of the cultural sector when negotiating relevant mobility provisions; is concerned, moreover, that the provisions governing the entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes contained in the draft text of the agreement published by the Commission do not meet the needs of the cultural and creative sector and risk hampering continued cultural exchange;

120. Supports unreservedly the clarity in the negotiating directives that audiovisual services should be excluded from the scope of the economic partnership and urges the Commission to remain steadfast in its position;

121. Stresses that access to the market for audiovisual services in the Union can only be guaranteed if Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 18 ) is fully implemented so that the same re-transmission rights are granted to both sides; recalls that content originating in the UK will continue to be classed as ‘European works’ after the end of the transition period as long as works originating in non-Member States and non-EEA states which are party to the Council of Europe Convention on Transfrontier Television are included within the ‘European works’ content quota;

122. Welcomes the inclusion of issues relating to the return or restitution of unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin; and stresses the importance of continued cooperation with the UK in that field;

Financial governance and scrutiny framework

123. Calls for ensuring and respecting the right of access of Commission services, the European Court of Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the right of scrutiny of Parliament; recalls that the CJEU must be accepted as the competent court in cases where compliance with, and the interpretation of, EU law is concerned;

Participation in Union programmes

124. Recommends that the Commission pay particular attention to the following applicable principles and conditions related both to the ‘Participation in Union Programmes’ and ‘Horizontal arrangements and governance’: (a) take the necessary action to ensure that the general principles, terms and conditions to be established as part of the envisaged partnership in relation to participation in EU programmes include the requirement for the UK to make a fair and appropriate financial contribution, both in terms of participation fee and operational contribution, to any programmes in which it takes part; (b) ensure that the general rule for UK participation in any programme is in line with the standard conditions applicable for the participation of third countries and is for the full duration of the programme concerned and for all parts of the programme, except where partial participation is justified for reasons such as confidentiality; recommends that it ensure predictability for participants in EU programmes that are established in the EU and stability in terms of budgetary allocations; (c) ensure that UK participation in EU programmes does not entail an overall net transfer from the EU budget to the UK and that the EU is able unilaterally to suspend or terminate UK participation in any programme if the conditions for participation are not fulfilled or if the UK does not pay its financial contribution; (d) ensure that the necessary measures are in place in the Agreement with the UK to tackle financial irregularities, fraud, money laundering, and other criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union, and to ensure the protection of the EU’s financial interests;

125. Believes, in particular, that UK participation in line with the general principles for participation of third countries in Union programmes in cross-border, cultural, development, education and research programmes such as Erasmus+, Creative Europe, Horizon, the European Research Council, the LIFE Programme, the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), Single European Sky (SES), Interreg, joint technology initiatives such as Clean Sky I and II, Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR), ERICs, Galileo, Copernicus, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Space, Surveillance and Tracking (SST) Support Framework, and public-private partnerships, is important;

126. Expects the agreement to address the UK's relationship to Euratom and the ITER project and the impact of a withdrawal on assets and liabilities; expects the UK, furthermore, to comply with the highest nuclear safety, security and radiation protection standards;

127. Considers that, should the UK ultimately wish to participate in the internal market, it should contribute to the cohesion funds for the 2021-2027 period, as is the case for EEA countries;

128. Believes that the new agreement should take into account the needs of the EU regions affected by the withdrawal of the UK from the EU;

129. Stresses that it is of the utmost importance that the PEACE programme continue to operate in Northern Ireland and the border regions of Ireland, and to be administered autonomously by the Special EU Programmes Body;

130. Considers that cooperation on issues of mutual interest between EU outermost regions and overseas countries and territories on the one hand, and UK Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) on the other hand, particularly in the Caribbean and Pacific, should continue; calls for special provisions to allow future joint projects under the European Development Fund and cohesion funds, as appropriate; and for the need to maintain an adequate level of support for the remaining OCTs;

131. Underlines that, by making financial resources available through the EU budget, the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) is a tangible expression of solidarity when serious repercussions on, inter alia, the economy affect one or more regions of the EU or of a country applying for accession;

132. Underlines the need to link the participation in programmes with alignment to related policies, such as on climate or cyber policies;

133. Considers that an agreement on energy cooperation, in line with the overall agreement on the future relations and based on a robust governance and level-playing field, would be in the mutual interest of the both parties;

134. Underlines that to ensure continuity for the Single Electricity Market on the island of Ireland after the UK’s withdrawal requires the continued application of the EU energy acquis in Northern Ireland;

135. Is of the opinion that the UK could continue to be an important partner in the EU space policy, underlines that the future access of the UK to the EU Space Programme needs to be addressed in the negotiations while preserving the EU's interests and in line with the applicable legal framework for participation of third countries in the EU Space Programme;

Intellectual Property

136. Emphasises that the envisaged agreement should contain strong and enforceable measures covering the recognition and a high-level of protection of GIs as well as intellectual property rights, such as copyright and related rights, trademarks and industrial designs, patents and trade secrets, based on the current and future EU legal framework without jeopardising access to affordable medicines, such as generics; considers that it should also ensure the possibility for close bilateral cooperation between the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Intellectual Property Offices in the UK;

Company law

137. Notes that, in order to avoid the lowering of standards and ensure legal standing in the UK and the EU, it is desirable that the envisaged agreement includes minimum common standards regarding setting up and carrying out operations, protection for shareholders, creditors or employees, company reporting and auditing and transparency rules, as well as mutual recognition of judicial decisions regarding restructuring and bankruptcy or insolvency;

Civil justice cooperation, including in family matters

138. Underlines that civil judicial cooperation is of paramount importance to ensure future trade and business interaction between citizens and companies and to provide certainty and sufficient protection of parties in cross-border transactions and other activities; is of the opinion that it should therefore be carefully assessed whether the Lugano Convention could be an adequate solution that would allow the EU to maintain the overall balance of its relationships with third countries and international organisations, or whether a new solution that could ensure a ‘dynamic alignment’ between the two sides, would be more appropriate;

139. Emphasies that the envisaged agreement should find a meaningful and comprehensive solution with regard to matrimonial, parental responsibility and other family matters in particular; in that context, notes that any reciprocal enforcement provisions concerning family matters in the envisaged agreement should be based not only on the principle of mutual trust of judicial systems, but also on the existence of certain constitutional guarantees and common fundamental rights standards;

Development cooperation and humanitarian aid

140. Notes that the UK remains one of the biggest bilateral donors in the world, and points out that the EU needs to address the opportunities for cooperation with the UK in a spirit of partnership; regrets that the withdrawal of the UK from the EU will leave gaps in the EU’s overall development cooperation and humanitarian aid policy;

141. Emphasises the central roles of the EU and UK in addressing common challenges through development policy and humanitarian aid; underlines the importance of the pursuit of Policy Coherence for Development in that regard;

142. Underlines the importance of a strong partnership that enshrines the rights-based approach while ensuring a continued commitment to, and collaboration in, achieving the SDGs, human rights, poverty eradication, as well as in implementing the Paris Agreement; underlines, furthermore, the importance of harmonised responses to humanitarian crises, and the fundamental principles of humanitarian aid;

143. Is convinced that the post-Cotonou partnership and the EU-Africa Strategy can be enhanced by effectively cooperating with the UK, and building on the UK’s strong presence in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific; stresses that the EU, UK and ACP countries should cooperate at all levels in line with the principles of partnership, solidarity and complementarity;

Security and foreign affairs

144. Notes the fact that the UK negotiating objectives published on 27 February 2020 stated that foreign policy will be determined only within a framework of broader friendly dialogue and cooperation between the UK and the EU, demoting this key area to the status of a non-institutionalised relationship to be agreed upon at a later stage;

145. Regrets that this is contrary to the provisions of the Political Declaration, which envisages an ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership in the field of foreign policy, security and defence and calls for the establishment of a future broad, comprehensive and balanced EU-UK security partnership, and to which the UK has agreed;

146. Recalls the EU’s position that foreign policy, security and defence should be part of a comprehensive agreement governing the future EU-UK relationship;

147. Deplores the fact that the UK shows no ambition for relations with the EU in the field of foreign policy, security and defence and that these were explicitly not covered by the UK mandate and therefore do not form part of the 11 negotiating tables;

148. Recalls that both the EU and the UK share principles, values and interests; stresses that it is in both sides’ interest to maintain an ambitious, close and lasting cooperation respecting the autonomy of the EU in the form of a common framework on foreign and security policy based on Article 21 TEU and taking into account the UN Charter and NATO in the following areas: (a) the promotion of peace; (b) a shared approach towards common security challenges, and global stability including in the European neighbourhood; (c) the promotion of a rules-based international order; (d) the consolidation of democracy and rule of law; (e) the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms; (f) the promotion of global prosperity, sustainable development, combatting climate change and mitigating biodiversity loss;

149. Observes that deeply integrated and coordinated international cooperation between the EU and UK would be of great benefit for both parties and for the global world order in general, given their similar approaches towards effective multilateralism, safeguarding peace, security and sustainability as well as defending and implementing human rights; proposes that such coordination should be governed by a systemic platform for high-level consultations and coordination on foreign policy issues; underlines the importance and added value of interparliamentary cooperation on global issues;

150. Stresses that common responses to address foreign, security and defence policy challenges such as terrorism, cyber-warfare, crisis in the neighbourhood, respect for human rights, disinformation campaigns and hybrid threats are necessary for both sides; encourages effective, timely and reciprocal dialogue, consultation, coordination and the exchange of information and intelligence; subject to democratic control by the UK and EU institutions; recalls that exchanges of classified information must be organised within a specific framework;

151. Emphasises that from the end of the transition period, the UK will become a third country without any specific framework of relations, which will have a significant impact on existing cooperation in foreign and security policy;

152. Calls on both the EU and UK to strengthen international peace and stability including by developing joint strategies to strengthen UN peacekeeping efforts; calls on both parties to promote the culture of peace and dialogue as a means of conflict prevention, conflict management and conflict resolution, women and gender rights; supports continuing existing cooperation in those areas; calls for systematic preferential cooperation in peacekeeping operations; calls for enhanced cooperation between the EU and UK on matters linked to democratic development, reform processes and democratic parliamentary practices in third countries, including election observation;

153. States the EU’s strong interest in such a foreign affairs and security partnership, given mutual benefits resulting from the UK’s and France’s permanent seat in the Security Council, UK’s and EU members’ highly performant diplomatic service, and the fact that the UK possesses the most powerful armed forces in Europe;

154. Proposes to base the future partnership on a very close and regular cooperation and coordination in the UN, in particular the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council;

155. Stresses the mutual importance between security and development; encourages both the EU and the UK to closely cooperate on sustainable development and humanitarian aid; recalls both parties the importance to commit on achieving the 0,7 % ODA/GNI target and to support the principle of Policy Coherence for Development; believes that the post-Cotonou partnership and the EU-Africa Strategy can benefit from an effective cooperation with the UK which address high social, human rights and environmental protection standards, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris agreement;

156. Stresses that it is in the mutual interest of the EU and the UK, amplified by their geographical proximity, to cooperate on the development of effective and genuinely interoperable defence capabilities, including with the European Defence Agency, with which an administrative arrangement should be concluded, and to continue the highly valuable partnerships within NATO and EU programmes on defence and external security, Galileo cyber-security programmes and the fight against targeted disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks, as the current COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated; recalls that, as regards the participation to the Public Regulated Service of Galileo, a specific agreement is both possible and necessary; notes also that, as regards the upcoming European Defence Fund, the UK could be associated under the conditions set for third countries; calls on both the EU and UK to develop a joint approach to standardisation of defence technology;

157. Expects the UK to be able to continue the established cooperation and information exchange of national authorities in the area of cybersecurity;

158. Recalls that a number of restrictive measures (sanctions regimes) are currently in force in the UK under EU legislation; recognises the effective use of sanctions for human rights, democracy, rule of law in accordance with the UN Charter; underlines the fact that the UK will still be bound to apply UN sanctions regimes following its withdrawal and calls for the UK to continue aligning its sanctions policy with the EU; and calls for the establishment of a proper coordination mechanism for sanctions between both parties, and close cooperation on sanctions in global fora, in order to maximise their impact and to ensure convergence and that mutual interests are pursued and met in the promotion of common values;

159. Encourages the UK to participate in the relevant EU agencies and take a prominent role in EU crisis management operations and in CSDP missions and operations, including in humanitarian and rescue missions, conflict prevention and peacekeeping, military advice and assistance and post-conflict stabilization as well as in projects under Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), where invited to participate, and, stresses that such participation should be subject to stringent conditions respecting the decision making autonomy of the EU as well as the sovereignty of the UK, the principle of balanced rights and obligations and based on effective reciprocity, including a fair and appropriate financial contribution; calls on the Commission and the European External Action Service to regularly inform Parliament concerning the process of political dialogue with the UK and on the main aspects of the information exchanges on CSDP and crisis management;

160. Recalls that effective international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation regimes are a cornerstone of global and European security; recalls the importance of a coherent and credible European strategy for multilateral negotiations at global level and on regional de-escalation and confidence-building measures; recalls the important role the UK played as regards the development and establishment of such norms, institutions and organisations; invites the UK to develop a joint strategy with the EU as regards that policy area, particularly in line with the UN disarmament agenda; calls on the UK to commit to remain bound by the criteria equivalent to those collected by Common Position 2008/944/CFSP ( 19 ) and, jointly with the EU, to promote the universalisation and strict implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the renewal of the New START;

161. Emphasises the great importance of consular and diplomatic cooperation between the EU and the UK, as this would ensure efficient assistance for each other’s citizens and would allow both the UK and EU to offer its citizens the possibility of benefiting from consular protection in third states where one of the two parties has no diplomatic representation, in accordance with point (c) of Article 20 TFEU;

162. Highlights the fact that the COVID 19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of military capacities and assets, with European armed forces playing a crucial role in support of civilian efforts in tackling the pandemic, while fulfilling their core missions; emphasises that this pandemic has demonstrated the importance of strategic autonomy of the EU and European defence cooperation to protect European populations in times of emergency and to foster the resilience of Member States; considers that mechanisms should be put in place to enable prompt cooperation between the Union and the United Kingdom in the face of future crises of a similar nature and scale; is of the view that drawing the lessons of the COVID19 pandemic, European military medical services should form an information exchange and support network to foster broad European resilience in times of emergency and crisis; considers that the participation of the UK in any such future European military medical network would be mutually beneficial;

Institutional provisions and Governance

163. Points out that the entire Agreement with the UK as a third country, including provisions on the level playing field, specific sectorial issues and thematic areas of cooperation and fisheries, should include the establishment of a single coherent and solid governance system as an overarching framework, covering the joint continuous supervision and management of the Agreement as well as transparent dispute settlement, compliance and enforcement mechanisms with sanctions and interim measures where necessary with respect to the interpretation and application of the Agreement’s provisions;

164. Is of the opinion that a single, comprehensive and horizontal governance mechanism should be applicable to the future relationship with the UK as a whole, including any supplementing agreements that may be concluded at a later stage, while ensuring consistency with the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement and avoiding inefficiencies; points out that the dispute resolution mechanism will need to be robust and should provide for gradual sanctions as well as remedies when it is determined that one of the parties is in breach of the Agreement, and that such a mechanism will need to ensure effective, rapidly actionable and dissuasive remedies; emphasises that Parliament will continue to be vigilant regarding the implementation of all provisions; recalls that the UK, as a former Member State, has developed important institutional cooperation and dialogue structures with the EU that should facilitate making such horizontal arrangements operational; reiterates that the EU expects from the UK a greater level of ambition on governance in order to build a solid future partnership;

165. Insists on the absolute necessity for that governance system, while respecting the autonomy of both sides, to fully preserve the autonomy of the EU’s decision-making and legal and judicial order, including the role of Parliament and the Council as co-legislators of EU law, and the role of the CJEU as the sole interpreter of EU law and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; considers that, for provisions based on EU law concepts, the governance arrangements must provide for referral to the CJEU;

166. Welcomes the proposal to establish a Parliamentary Partnership Assembly for Members of the European Parliament and of the Parliament of the UK, with the right to receive information from the Partnership Council and submit recommendations to it and emphasises that the Agreement should provide the legal basis for provisions enabling the institutional set-up of that body;

167. Demands that Parliament’s role be respected in the context of the implementation of the provisions on regulatory cooperation in order to ensure that it is able to exercise proper political oversight, and that its rights and prerogatives as co-legislator are guaranteed; recalls Parliament’s rights to be informed about the arrangements on review of the Agreement;

168. Emphasises that the Agreement in its entirety should be covered by provisions on civil society dialogue, stakeholder involvement and consultation by both parties, in accordance with paragraph 125 of the Political Declaration, which should encompass, in particular, social partners, including organisations and employee associations representing both EU citizens living and working in the UK and UK citizens in the EU; insists on the establishment of domestic advisory groups supervising the implementation of the Agreement;

169. Supports the continued participation of the UK as a third country observer with no decision-making role in EU non-regulatory agencies such as in the transport, environment or employment fields, as well as possible UK cooperation agreements with peer regulatory agencies such as the European Chemicals Agency, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the European Maritime Safety Agency, in order to exchange data, best practices and scientific knowledge; reiterates its call on the Commission, taking into account the status of the UK as a non-Schengen third country and as a key partner in the fight against terrorism and organised crime, to consider potential future practical cooperation between the UK authorities and the EU agencies in the field of Justice and Home Affairs;

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170. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Commission and, for information, to the Council, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the Government and Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

(1) OJ L 58, 27.2.2020, p. 53.

(2) OJ C 298, 23.8.2018, p. 24.

(3) OJ C 346, 27.9.2018, p. 2.

(4) OJ C 369, 11.10.2018, p. 32.

(5) OJ C 162, 10.5.2019, p. 40.

(6) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2019)0016.

(7) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0006.

(8) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0033.

(9) UKTF(2020)14.

(10) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0018.

(11) OJ L 29, 31.1.2020, p. 7.

(12) OJ C 34, 31.1.2020, p. 1.

(13) OJ L 58, 27.2.2020, p. 53.

(14) It is necessary to include, in the future agreement, an ad hoc mechanism against ‘swap’ risks in order to protect the internal market from a situation where UK would choose to import goods at low cost from third countries (in order to satisfy its domestic consumption) and export duty free to the more lucrative EU market its domestic production. That phenomenon, benefitting both the UK and third countries, which the rules of origin cannot prevent, would destabilise EU agricultural sectors and therefore requires specific operational mechanisms.

(15) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).

(16) Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants (OJ L 344, 17.12.2016, p. 1).

(17) Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17).

(18) Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States con