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A business deal was reached on Christmas Eve. How to proceed now:
EU member states have started examining the Brexit trade deal with Great Britain. EU negotiator Michel Barnier briefed the ambassadors of the 27 member states in Brussels on Friday morning on the outcome of the negotiations, a spokesman for the German EU presidency said. The ambassadors then sent a letter to the European Parliament announcing their intention to provisionally put the agreement into force from 1 January.
Agreement on the trade deal was reached on Thursday just days before Britain left the EU domestic market earlier in the year. The agreement provides for trade without tariffs. At the same time, it regulates issues such as future police and judicial cooperation or the social security of citizens on both sides.
On the EU side, the governments of the 27 member states have yet to approve the outcome of the negotiations. The deal negotiated by Barnier and the EU Commission is now being scrutinized in detail in all capitals. The German spokesman spoke of a “daunting task”. Because even the actual trade agreement is 1246 pages long. There are also other agreements, for example cooperation with the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The final result is 1,298 pages of the contract text.
The next meeting of the EU ambassadors is scheduled according to information from AFP on Monday to discuss reactions, questions and possible objections from member states. If all goes well, the ambassadors will initiate a written procedure that would pave the way for the signing and provisional application of the agreement.
Provisional application is “an extraordinary step”, said the spokesman for the German EU presidency. The aim is to avoid “a significant disruption in relations between the EU and Britain with serious consequences for citizens and businesses” after the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January.
At the same time, provisional application creates time for “a proper and full democratic review of the draft agreement by the European Parliament,” the diplomat said. Because this has already made it clear that the time for regular ratification before the end of the year is too short. According to the chairman of the trade committee of the EU Parliament, Bernd Lange (SPD), this could take place in February.
The approval process has also been initiated by the British side. To this end, Parliament will be convened for an extraordinary session from the winter holidays on December 30. The opposition Labor Party has already announced that it will vote in favor of the agreement. This would mean that some deviants in the conservative government camp would not avoid approval.
