During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels (14-18 December 2020), MEPs debate future relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom. Opening statements by Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight and by Michel BARNIER, Head of the UK Task-Force. This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

Future relations between the EU and the UK: opening statements by Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight and by Michel BARNIER, Head of the UK Task-Force

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SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, Dear Madam President, honourable members of the European Parliament, I welcome this debate that gives us, Michel Barnier and myself, the opportunity to update you on both the ongoing negotiations on the possible future deal and the withdrawal agreement implementation.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, And let me start with the letter. As I previously mentioned, to this House, deal or no deal, it was of utmost importance to ensure that the withdrawal agreement will be operational in time as of 1st January 2021. This was the matter of trust and mutual respect of international law obligations.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, Yesterday, we held the 5th regular meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee on the Withdrawal Agreement, and this meeting marked an important milestone. It followed the bilateral agreement in principle that I had reached with the UK co-chair Chancellor Michael Gove last week and reported immediately back to the UK Coordination Group of the European Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, In the meantime, the member states have managed to swiftly approved relevant decision. And today I am therefore pleased to confirm that we have officially endorsed the necessary formal decisions and practical solutions for the timely implementation of the withdrawal agreement and that of its protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland by the end of the transition period.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, In relation to the protocol implementation, this means that we have delivered on our overarching objective to protect the Good Friday Belfast Agreement, avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and thereby contribute to maintain peace, stability and prosperity on the island. This was only possible thanks to the dedication and solution driven approach on both sides.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, This is also a testament to our shared commitment to the Good Friday Belfast Agreement. These solutions provide businesses and people in Northern Ireland with necessary clarity and stability while upholding the integrity of our single market. As far as the EU is concerned, we have achieved our two main priorities.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, First, to obtain robust working arrangements for EU presence in the Northern Ireland so that our representatives can effectively carry out their tasks on the ground. In particular, I welcome that the UK has finally agreed to provide adequate equipment and facilities, as well as continuous real time access to the relevant IT systems and databases both on the ground and remotely.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, Our EU representatives, as well as us, be able to carry out the monitoring tasks on the site at all places where goods and animals enter or exit Northern Ireland through ports or airports. This is key to ensure that the protocol is implemented correctly by the UK authorities in the Northern Ireland, thereby protecting the integrity of the EU single market.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, Second priority to make sure that the UK government not only continues to actively engaged in to timely implementation of the withdrawal agreement in the joint committee framework, but also commits to withdrawing all contentious parts of its internal market bill and refrain from introducing any similar parts in its taxation bill, which it did last week.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, Finally, as a part of our bilateral agreement in principle. Given these assurances, we were also able to find workable solutions for a number of areas. In details, the joint committee adopted five decisions, four decisions on the protocol on the island and Northern Ireland. The above mentioned decisions on the practical arrangements for the union presence in Northern Ireland.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, A decision on goods not at risk of entering the EU single market, a decision on the exemption of agricultural and fish subsidies from state aid rules, and a decision to correct some technical errors and omissions in annexe two of the protocol. One decision on the extension of Social Security coordination to European economic areas and Switzerland as of 1st January 2021.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, And the joint committee also took note of the list of 25 persons, including 5 chairpersons, to serve as arbitrators for the dispute settlement mechanism under the withdrawal agreement. This decision will be adopted shortly.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, In addition to these decisions, we have adopted a set of unilateral declarations to set out pragmatic, pragmatic and time limited solutions. But the UK was not fully ready for the end of the transition period whilst ensuring a credible pathways to full compliance in the forthcoming months.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, These solutions concern a number of areas, temporary border control posts specifically for checks on animals, plants and drive products, export declarations, the supply of medicines, the supply of chilled meat and other food products to the supermarkets, and the clarification on the application of the state aid rules under the terms of protocol.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, I underline again that these temporary solutions are subject to strict conditions to ensure that all relevant stakeholders will be in a position to fully comply with the protocol in the course of 2021. Last but not least, we also agreed to pursue our joint efforts in assuring that during the grace period until 30th of June 2021 and beyond, the rights of our citizens and UK nationals are effectively protected.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, The joint committee thus endorsed and agreed to publish the second the joint report on the implementation of residents rights prepared by the respective specialist committee. This report provides an update on national residence schemes in the UK and in the European Union. It also outlines outreach and assistance measures to support EU citizens and UK nationals, including vulnerable groups, and to inform important stakeholders such as employers.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, Much remains to be done. But yesterday marked an important first and decisive step in living up to the commitments of the withdrawal agreement. Before passing the floor to our chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, I want to underline that we will need to continue paying full attention to the implementation of the withdrawal agreement in 2021 with a focus on how our mutually agreed solutions will actually work on the ground.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Maros SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight, To this end, we have also agreed yesterday that the joint committee will meet at least quarterly during the upcoming year. I want to thank you, honourable members of the European Parliament, for your support in this endeavour. I will, of course, continue to keep this house regularly abreast of and closely associated with all upcoming developments on the withdrawal agreement implementation front. Thank you very much, Madam President.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Thank you very much, Madam President. Good morning to each and everyone here. During the course of this very long and extraordinary set of negotiations that I have the honour of leading on behalf of the commission and on behalf of you as well, for over four years now. After having succeeded together with both you and the council in preparing a withdrawal agreement for the United Kingdom to leave the EU as they have expressed their wish to do so.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And Maros Sefcovic, who's just spoken, I'd like to thank him for his tenacity and efficiency in the way in which he and our team have managed to work on the final details of an operational nature to make sure that this treaty, which was ratified last year by your parliament and by the British parliament, so that it can be implemented as we had expected and as is normal and necessary for peace in Ireland, for the economy of the whole of the island and the protection of the single market.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, So that can be implemented and operational in due time in the coming few days. And the issue at stake now is the second negotiation going beyond the departure of the UK from the EU. It's a question of whether the U.K. will leave in a few times, a few days, 10 days or so, if they're going to leave the single market and the customs union with an agreement or without an agreement.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, It's the moment of truth. We have very little time remaining just a few hours to work through these negotiations in useful fashion, if you want this agreement to enter into force on the 1st of January. As usual, you were informed by our president, Ursula Von Der Leyen a few days ago here in this very room, there is a chance of getting an agreement, but the path to such an agreement is very narrow, the time when the decisions need to be taken.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, That will also be the time for each and every one to assume their responsibilities. I will be assuming mine, as I have always done throughout the course of my public commitment, within the respect of the mandate that was established by the 27 member states of the European Union and which was supported and confirmed, confirmed by the broad ranging crossbench majority here in Parliament through your resolution.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Today, there are three fundamental aspects that I'd like to recall from these negotiations. First of all, it is the Brits who decided on a very short deadline within which we are now constrained. In June, they refused any form of extension of the transition which was possible, which was on the table. We would have agree to that, but they establish the date of the 31st of December as that moment of truth.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Now, if they should leave with a degree, with an agreement, sorry, if we so desire or without it is nevertheless the Brits who decided on that deadline. The second point, these negotiations have been extraordinary in the course of nine months. These are negotiations of a type we've never seen before.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Looking at the subjects at the core of your resolution and the core of my mandate, even if we find it regrettable that the Brits didn't want to go further, for example, with an agreement including foreign policy, defence and cooperation as we were prepared to negotiate. But it takes two to tango. You both have to agree if you want to reach an agreement.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Nevertheless, what is left on the table? What we've been working on over the past nine months has been quite considerable because it covers all manner of subjects, almost all manner of subjects. To establish new forms of cooperation and a new framework after the departure of the UK following a 47 year common action with them in the framework of the European Union. And why is this partnership unprecedented?

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Well, apart from the time frame that was at our disposal to negotiate, it took four or five years, by the way, to get an even less ambitious agreement with Canada or Japan. And given the broad spectrum of subjects, we had to get through. The third point in such an agreement, following your mandate, your resolution. Everything comes together as a whole. Nothing's agreed till everything's agreed.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And so it's hardly surprising then that in these last hours at our disposal, we note that the negotiations have become extremely difficult. We've reached the hard nuts to crack. As I've often said before, the UK coordination group in the European Parliament, led by David McAllister. And indeed, I spoke to the chairman of your groups yesterday.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, As of the start of these negotiations. And this is the very reason for Brexi, the Brits established a very strong red line. They want to regain their entire sovereignty. At the same time, they have to respect the sovereignty of the member states of the European Union. Which constitutes a form of solidarity across the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And we have a red line as well. And that is that this union of 27 member states, which works according to democratic principles under the public scrutiny of your parliament, is founded on values, common values, economic and social. Fabric of a single market, which is much more than just a trade agreement, we need to preserve those values and that single market. We want to have trade and commercial cooperation, which is open, but it needs to be fair and free.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And it has to be based on what we call a level playing field, fair competition is the way I'd rather put it. So fair competition rules. Ambitious standards in terms of social standards, environmental standards and climate standards, most notably. And if the sovereign United Kingdom would like to depart from those standards in the future, that is their right. But that brings with it consequences when it comes to access to our markets without tariffs and without quotas.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And the UK would like to regain its sovereignty over fisheries to be able to control access to its waters. And as I've said on many occasions, and I'll reiterate that here. We can accept that and we respect that, but if following a credible period of adjustment that is deemed necessary, if the UK then wants to cut access to these waters for European fishermen at any given time, then the European Union also has to maintain its sovereign right to react or to compensate, by adjusting the conditions for products and especially fisheries products to the single market.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And that is where we come up against one of the main hurdles of the negotiations at the moment, fisheries being part and parcel of the economic partnership. So, ladies and gentlemen, on a personal note, I don't think it would be fair nor acceptable if European fishermen were not allowed following transitional rights to have access to those waters when the rest of the agreement and especially applying to companies from the UK would remain stable in their rights. So that wouldn't be fair. That wouldn't be honest.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, So those are a couple of points that separate us at the moment. I'm sure you're well aware there are many other important dimensions set out in the negotiations that we're going through at the moment. We'd like to have an ambitious free trade agreement that is unique, a form that we've never offered to any third country ever before that would offer zero quota access with the rules that I mentioned on a level playing field.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Connectivity, for example, for both road and air transport and energy or cooperation when it comes to Social Security. I'm also thinking of partnership in terms of internal security. The security of citizens, everything that happens around us in geopolitical terms, I think makes it incumbent on us to ensure security for our citizens. And that's why we've already agreed in these negotiations on very close cooperation in eight specific areas.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Many of you working in your committees on this Europol, Eurojust, Pr&uuml;m, extradition exchange of information on criminal registers and the freezing and confiscation of assets. And this form of cooperation for the security of citizens is based on two prerequisites which have been accepted. The respect of fundamental rights, most notably as they are enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the protection of private data.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, So that's why we are at the moment and the unresolved issues in these few crucial hours that remain at our disposal, our fundamental issues for the European Union. We're not asking more nor less than a balance between rights and obligations and reciprocity, access to markets and access to our waters, and the other way round, no more, no less. And it's obvious that we are striving for an agreement.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, It's also obvious that this isn't an agreement we're prepared to sign at any price or any cost. I think I've always been frank with you and open and sincere. I cannot say what will come out during this last straight line of the negotiations. We have to be prepared for all eventualities and obviously there'll be a number of texts put to this House to be voted on in terms of contingency measures to prepare in the case of no deal.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, On this particular point, I'd like to thank you all. I'd like to thank all the services and other people who've worked it from the European Parliament on this and being available in working in such a tight time frame to allow the entry into force in a no deal scenario on the 1st of January. And also in parallel, we are working to try and get the new Brexit adjustment reserve up and running as soon as possible.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, So I'll have to leave you. And I do apologise for that because we're going to restart negotiations. And the President of the commission did ask me to restart those negotiations, David Frost and his team will be there to try a last attempt to reach an acceptable agreement, acceptable in terms of fisheries. We don't know if that's what we'll achieve unless everybody makes a real effort, specific effort to try and find a compromise there.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, So I'd like to thank you at this stage for your support and your confidence, something that has never been lacking since our start on this road together. And this confidence is founded in a method that I set out as of the outset, as of the first day, supported by President Juncker at the time, and President Ursula Von Der Leyen subsequently, which was of dialogue and transparency in an ongoing fashion.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Thinking of the Committee chairman of the INTA Committee, whether additional questions we are trying to answer those and trying to strike equal balance in our negotiations, and I'd like to thank the task force for being there. They are available to provide information to you, I think during the course of negotiations, they always have done that. And I think that's why there is that confidence that I've always experienced here from you. And I'd like to thank you for that.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, To conclude, Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the restrictions that you have to scrutinise in a democratic fashion of anything coming from this, it's very normal. I was a member of this parliament. I was a member of my national parliament as well. The question of democracy and democratic scrutiny is at the heart of this negotiation, it needs to be that, people need to be acquainted, familiar with this.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, It has to go through parliaments. Economic actors concerned have to have a chance to gain ownership of this, to have a buy in. That's extremely important. And if I can say by way of conclusion, what's more important than just the relationship between the UK and the European Union is the European project, which is called into question here. Throughout these negotiations, there are three points of perspective and reference that I've always borne in mind.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, To try and allow things to work out in the long run, first of all, peace in Northern Ireland, that was and remains an essential point. And that's why I'd like to thank Maros for the work that he's done to guarantee the conditions for stability in Ireland. That's the first point. Second point, obviously, our union I was given a mandate to defend the interests of this union, the single market, the consumers, the citizens, businesses in all sectors.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And the third point I always have held in mind above and beyond Brexit. Let's not forget that the UK is there. It's a big country, a rich country we respect. A country which is a partner, friend and ally. The country with which in whatever way, shape or form, we have to have an agreement, if it is not today because we don't reach an agreement, we will have to be later.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And that will nevertheless be strong links. And we expect an ambitious level in that friendship. So we find ourselves in a very serious and sombre situation. Thank you very much for your attention. Thank you for your confidence.

Future relations between the EU and the UK: opening statements by Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Interinstitutional relations and Foresight and by Michel BARNIER, Head of the UK Task-Force

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