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The European Parliament will have its say on the post-Brexit trade deal after all — or at least that’s what it’s been promised.
As MEPs closed in Tuesday on belatedly ratifying the EU-U.K. future relations agreement, the European Commission issued a statement pledging lawmakers will have an important role supervising and policing future relations between Brussels and London.
Most notably, the Commission vowed it would allow “adequate involvement” of MEPs in the “important decisions” made under the agreement — amending it, suspending parts of it or sanctioning Britain over violations of it. The document also affirms the more typical role Parliament plays in overseeing such trade agreements, agreeing to keep MEPs “immediately and fully informed” about the activities of the deal’s governing bodies, such as the EU-U.K. Partnership Council.
“We will ensure that the Parliament is involved as appropriate and necessary whenever important decisions are taken under the agreement,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday morning.
It’s a late — if nonbinding — satisfaction for the Parliament, which was sidelined during the hectic and messy conclusion of negotiations on the post-Brexit trade deal at the end of last year. When talks finally wrapped up on December 24, MEPs had to grudgingly accept there was no time left to thoroughly scrutinize and approve the deal (they refused to swiftly rubber-stamp the text as the British parliament did).
As a result, the deal was only provisionally applied on January 1. Now, EU lawmakers will finally vote on the deal Tuesday night, following a four-month delay. The vote is largely seen as a formality because most MEPs back the agreement, which means it is set to pass with a comfortable majority, allowing the post-Brexit pact to fully enter into force on May 1. Due to the specific digital voting procedure under the coronavirus restrictions, the official result is only expected to be announced Wednesday morning.
Paradoxically, while the shunting aside of Parliament last year led to an arguable loss of influence for the institution (and, some would say, a loss of credibility), the commitments made in Tuesday’s Commission statement would grant MEPs specific powers that go beyond what they usually have on trade deals.
Instead of only being briefed or, at best, informally consulted by the Commission — as is the case for Parliament on other EU trade deals with Canada, Korea and Japan — lawmakers are now being promised, at least on paper, some influence over EU-U.K. trade relations for years to come. The Commission noted these are concessions made because of the “exceptional character” of the post-Brexit deal.
The Parliament’s trade committee chair, Bernd Lange, said he was satisfied with the result, which follows months of inter-institutional negotiations on the future involvement of Parliament on the deal.
“The Parliament now has a strong lever to move the Commission in a certain direction” on the EU-U.K. deal, the German Social Democrat said.
“I think some in the Council Secretariat got a little nervous,” he added, claiming victory in the Parliament’s Brexit power struggle with the Commission and the Council of the EU.
Yet it remains to be seen how effective the MEP’s involvement will actually be in practice.
For instance, while the Commission pledged the “adequate involvement” of Parliament, it did not promise to actually follow Parliament’s will. The document simply vows to “take utmost account of possible comments” and “explain the reasons” if the Commission doesn’t follow Parliament’s desires.
French Renew MEP Nathalie Loiseau said it was the most the Parliament could get in this situation, even if it had been hoping for more.
“We have pushed to the maximum the walls of the treaties,” she said, “but the treaties are the treaties.”
Von der Leyen said Tuesday that the Commission will propose a more biding legislative act “to regulate” how the Parliament, Commission and Council collectively make decisions on the post-Brexit trade deal.
And she lauded the Parliament’s decision to vote on the deal after political groups had repeatedly delayed the final step over the U.K.’s unilateral decision to delay the introduction of border checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain.
Ratifying the deal “will give us the tools to ensure full and faithful compliance” of the post-Brexit trade deal, as well as the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, von der Leyen said, while stressing that the EU will use sanctions if required.
“This agreement comes with real teeth,” she said. “With a binding dispute settlement mechanism and the possibility for unilateral, remedial measures where necessary. And let me be very clear: We do not want to have to use these tools. But we will not hesitate to use them if necessary.”
Maïa de La Baume contributed reporting.
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