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The European Parliament has set a Sunday deadline for an agreement on a post-Brexit trade and security deal if it is to take a consent vote this year, after being briefed on by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on the latest from the talks with the UK. .
In a draft joint statement seen by The Guardian, political group leaders will say they need to see the deal before the end of the weekend to allow sufficient scrutiny before the December 28 vote.
Deadlines have come and gone throughout the Brexit talks, but the move adds an additional complication to the negotiation in Brussels, which according to UK sources remains “difficult” despite recent progress.
EU member states could still provisionally apply an agreement before December 31, to prevent the UK from leaving the transition without new deals with the bloc, even without consent from parliament.
MEPs would vote in January after holding committee debates and a full plenary session, but the European Commission hates to go ahead without a voice from parliament for the remaining three weeks of the year.
The new deadline will give further momentum to talks where the issue of EU access to British fishing waters is the main remaining obstacle.
Before the statement was issued, Manfred Weber, German leader of the center-right European People’s Party, tweeted: “I proposed to the leadership of the European Parliament this morning that we should only approve a Brexit deal if we have it until this Sunday. After that, we cannot reasonably review the settlement before the end of the year. The deal is too important to pass quickly in parliament.
“We owe it to the people and businesses in our districts, who will be hit hard by Brexit, to review the deal properly. After Sunday, we don’t think this is still possible. “
Dacian Cioloș, leader of the Renew Europe group in the parliament in which Emmanuel Macron’s party, La République En Marche is located, said: “We give Boris Johnson until Sunday to make a decision. The uncertainty weighing on citizens and businesses as a result of UK decisions becomes intolerable.
“Michel Barnier and his team have our full support as we head to the Brexit moment of truth.”
On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a showdown over the EU’s access to British fishing waters could still dampen hopes for a post-Brexit trade deal, with a deal said to it is “so close but still … so far.”
In a speech to the European Parliament, he said the issue of domestic subsidies, which for so long was a thorn in the negotiators’ side, had been resolved.
It reported that legal assurances had also been obtained that environmental, social and labor standards would not be undermined, and that ongoing fruitful discussions on “safeguarding the future” against unfair competition offered a clear path to an agreement.
But von der Leyen told MEPs that remaining disagreements over future agreements for European fishing fleets in UK waters could still spoil the nine months of negotiations at the 11 hour.
“The discussion is still very difficult,” he said. “We do not question the sovereignty of the United Kingdom in its own waters. But we ask for predictability and stability for our fishermen and our fisherwomen.
“And in all honesty, it sometimes feels like we won’t be able to resolve this issue. But we must keep trying to find a solution. And it is the only responsible and correct course of action. “
The UK wants the power to close European ships’ access to its waters, but the EU is seeking a three-month notice for its fleet, with the possibility of compensation or the ability to take retaliatory action.
The two sides have yet to find a middle way between the EU offer to repatriate between 15% and 18% of the current EU catch by value in British seas from UK-flagged vessels and the demand for Downing Street of about 60%.
The UK also denies access to the six to 12 mile zone of the British coast, where French and Belgian fishing boats have worked for centuries.
“We have made some progress, but we are still very far apart in key areas,” said a UK official. The UK will leave the single market and the EU customs union with or without a deal in just under three weeks.
