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The ultimatum expires Sunday night. This is what the head of the European Parliament decided on Thursday. If there is a Brexit treaty by then, the European Parliament will deal with ratification in a special session. If not, the deputies would. . . Yes, what actually?
Rightly, the statement does not announce any concrete consequences. Hardly anyone seriously believes that parliament will reject the necessary cooperation on the exit treaty. There is too much at stake with Brexit, for the UK, but also for the continent. Parliamentarians will not allow a deal to fail with an announcement. They know the responsibility they have.
Unfortunately, the Member States know this too. And they take advantage of this fact by negotiating with the British almost to the last second. This deprives Parliament of the opportunity to properly examine the agreement. It would only be an even greater humiliation for MPs if a possible agreement were to come into force provisionally, that is, without their consent, due to lack of time. In this way, the Council would create facts and Parliament would be devalued.
The Council regularly whistles at Parliament
It would not be the first time. Member states regularly don’t give a damn about their co-legislators and the fact that this plays a role in the structure of the EU, which, like that of capitals, is enshrined in EU treaties. This was also the case in the summer during the dispute over the EU budget, when member states presented their painstakingly negotiated solution to parliament, combined with the announcement that serious improvements were impossible.
The situation could be similar with the Union’s new climate target, where EU countries have spoken out in favor of a reduction of at least 55 percent in net emissions. It is quite possible that the Council will also declare this compromise unmovable due to difficult negotiations between member states, although Parliament demands 60 percent gross, not taking into account that CO₂ can also be removed from the atmosphere again, for example, through afforestation. The natural compromise would be 57.5 percent. Or at least 55 gross.
Contempt is a poison that creeps
The wound of the European elections is also exacerbated: at that time, the European Parliament insisted that the Heads of State and Government should propose for the position of President of the Commission someone who would have run as the top candidate in the elections. Instead, Ursula von der Leyen came. Parliament agreed anyway. Also because in return the deputies were promised corrections in the institutional structure, in the Spitzenkandidaten principle or in the right to propose laws themselves. Since then nothing has happened.
Parliament lets it happen to itself. On the one hand, because of the aforementioned sense of responsibility, but also because Members often disagree with each other. You can see that now with the Brexit ultimatum. As soon as the resolution was passed, the first one was introduced, warning that such an announcement would further give it its own influence.
But constant disdain is a slow-acting poison. Even if not now with Brexit: at some point there will come a time when parliament seriously refuses to cooperate with member states. There are many reasons to do it.
