Debate: The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement - The outcome of EU-UK negotiations
Date: TUESDAY, 27 APRIL 2021
Speaker: Christophe Hansen
Country: Germany
Language: FR

Today the European Parliament has the regrettable duty to really get Brexit done. This plenary debate and vote concludes four months of intense scrutiny of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in all its different dimensions, whereas the House of Commons barely had a few hours to do so. Though it remains true that this Parliament never liked the fact that the TCA was provisionally applied before we could deliver our verdict, this situation has given us the opportunity to observe the TCA in action. However imperfect the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is, it has the merit of having cushioned the worst impact of the economic Brexit this year. Nevertheless, provisional application without Parliament’s prior consent, President von der Leyen, cannot be a precedent for any future procedures, and I believe that, as a Parliament, we have made this abundantly clear. I am today recommending that this House give a positive vote to the TCA. The UK Government, however, should not mistakenly take this for a blank cheque or a vote of blind confidence in its intention to implement the agreements between us in good faith. No, they should see this as the EU taking an insurance policy against further unilateral deviations from what was jointly agreed, not least because a positive vote on the TCA means that we are expanding our legal tools and leverage to continue pressing for full and pragmatic implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The protection of the hard-won peace on the island of Ireland through the Good Friday Agreement has been the EU’s number one preoccupation ever since the referendum in 2016. The Protocol was, and is, the EU’s and the UK’s joint response to the conundrum of exiting the single market and avoiding a hard border. So instead of playing fast and loose with the terms of the jointly agreed Protocol, undermining repeatedly the necessary trust for our new relationship to evolve, the UK Government should own up to the Agreement it co-signed. The TCA will be one more tool to hold the UK Government to account should they deliberately seek to undermine the Protocol. Infringement proceedings under the Withdrawal Agreement are under way, and I want to call upon the Commission to pursue them with vigour. Should they, however, be met with persistent non—compliance, then we can resort to the TCA to suspend, for example, our obligations under the TCA, like reimposing tariffs or quotas, if necessary, as a last resort. But our real leverage definitely lies in the TCA, and I sincerely hope that we will not go that far and that Vice—President Šefčovič and Lord Frost can come to an agreement in the form of a credible roadmap that will see the Protocol fully implemented. There is sufficient room for pragmatism and flexibility once all provisions have been implemented, and we continue to believe that the Protocol is the best way to safeguard the peace in Northern Ireland. A positive vote for the TCA, which has secured unprecedented levels of market access, also means increased legal certainty for companies that are operating under very difficult circumstances these days with the supply chains affected by Brexit and by the pandemic. Plunging our companies into renewed uncertainty would be hugely irresponsible. A positive vote means preserving and solidifying the unprecedented and hard—won level playing field they got, which this Parliament has heavily advocated in favour of. We should be under no illusion that there are those in the House of Commons that would seize any opportunity to fully break free from those hard—won provisions. Last but not least, a positive vote today does not mean that the Parliament resigns its duties or relinquishes its oversights – quite on the contrary. The President of the Commission has made a clear declaration enshrining the Parliament’s institutional oversight, setting in stone the future role of the Parliament as a watchstock for this Agreement. Therefore, the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly should take up its functions sooner rather than later so that we may monitor together the implementation of the TCA and continue to build bridges across the Channel, because our fates and future will always and inextricably be interlinked. For those reasons, dear colleagues, I strongly recommend you to ratify and vote in favour of the TCA today. It is the only responsible thing to do for our businesses, for our companies and for our citizens. Let’s move ahead.