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Speaking after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament, the head of the EPP warned that MEPs will vote against a final trade deal agreed between Brussels and the UK if Boris Johnson continues to push for that the Brexit withdrawal agreement is annulled. Manfred Weber said: “The need for credibility is really great here.
“It makes no sense to negotiate a future agreement with a British prime minister who is throwing the agreement he signed out of the window.
Britain is losing credibility globally.
“What I can say is that the European Parliament will never be able to vote in favor of any trade deal with Britain if we cannot trust each other.
“So the next few months will be extremely challenging.
“They will shape Europe. Let us show our citizens that Europe shows solidarity and above all credibility.”
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Addressing Parliament to Weber, President von der Leyen also criticized the Prime Minister for his plan to introduce the Internal Market Bill in Westminster.
Each day that passes reduces the chances of sealing a new trade deal with the United Kingdom, the European Union’s chief executive said on Wednesday, warning London that there was “very little time” left to launch a deal before the end of the year.
In her important annual political speech, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, dedicated only a few sentences to Brexit, focusing mainly on the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as digital and climate investments.
“With each passing day, the chances of a timely agreement begin to fade,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament in a state of the (European) Union address inspired by those delivered by American presidents.
“This Withdrawal Agreement took three years to negotiate and we worked tirelessly on it line by line, word by word, and together we achieved it,” he added.
“The European Union and the United Kingdom jointly agreed that it was the best and only way to ensure peace on the island of Ireland and we will never back down on that.
“This agreement has been ratified by this House and the House of Commons. It cannot be unilaterally changed, ignored, disapproved.
“It is a matter of law, trust and good faith.”
Ms Von der Leyen said that Margaret Thatcher had always insisted that the UK honor its treaty commitments.
He quoted the former prime minister as saying: “Britain does not break the treaties. It would be bad for Britain, bad for relations with the rest of the world and bad for any future trade treaty.”
He added: “This was true then and it is true today. Trust is the foundation of any strong partnership.”
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The warning came after the government issued legislation allowing ministers to override the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement relating to Northern Ireland.
Johnson has insisted that he intends to provide a legal “safety net” to protect the peace process and ensure that the EU cannot impose tariffs on goods moving into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said the provisions of the UK Internal Market Bill are only intended to be used if the EU breaches its contractual obligations.
“If we get to that stage, the reason is because we judge that, unfortunately, despite everyone’s best efforts, the EU is in a position where we believe that they are actually failing to meet their obligations to us,” he told Sky News.
“I’d like to avoid that, I think we can, but we have to prepare for that contingency, that ‘break glass in an emergency’ arrangement, which I think it is.”
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