The EP Conference of Presidents (EP President and political groups’ leaders) puts forward a draft resolution on the framework of the future EU-UK relationship, to be voted on by the whole Parliament the following week. After this meeting, Antonio TAJANI, EP President and Guy VERHOFSTADT (ALDE, BE), EP coordinator for Brexit, speak to the press about UK withdrawal from the EU, in the EP in Brussels.

Brussels

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

VERHOFSTADT, Guy (Renew, BE)

Brexit (T)

article 50 of the Lisbon treaty (T)

EU - United Kingdom (T)

press conference

EP conference of presidents

“UK withdrawal from the EU”: the whole Parliament the following week and extracts from the press conference by Antonio TAJANI, EP President and Guy VERHOFSTADT (ALDE, BE), EP coordinator for Brexit

Arrival of Guy VERHOFSTADT (ALDE,BE), EP coordinator for Brexit, speaking with MEP's

Arrival of Antonio TAJANI, EP President , opening the meeting (3 shots)

General views of the meeting room, door closing (3 shots)

Entering the press conference room (2 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, For the Parliament, the principal governing; our future relation are very clear. Single market integrity must be preserved. Sector by sector participation is not possible. A third country cannot be treated better than an EU member state; including the one in the EEA. To be the member of the European Union is not the same as is to be outside the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, The legal framework of our future relations depends on the UK. I thank Mrs May for the speech last week. She was clear on Customs Union and Single Market manoeuvre. However, her position leaves little room for alternatives. The future treaty can only be an FTA. It can go deeper than Canada or Japan and they will be the models. By not being in the Custom Union, the simplest solution to the border issues in Ireland will not be available either.

SOUNDBITE (English), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, I think, also, for us is important to defend the peace and at the same time to defend the lives of our citizens. We want to also defend the Agrifood sector, because trough the border between the Northern Ireland and Irish republic is possible in the future that (some may) use this border for exports of goods coming from abroad products against our rules on health.

SOUNDBITE (English), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Parliament will not accept an agreement that discriminates European citizens who arrive in the UK during the transition. ( We defend those ) 3,5 million living now, but also we want to defend the citizens arriving in the UK during the transition.

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, EP coordinator for the negotiations with the UK (MEP), What we propose is that there will be four specific pillars in that association agreement. The first pillar on trade and economics will be an FTA, an FTA that you can not compare whatever other FTA.

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, EP coordinator for the negotiations with the UK (MEP), We have a huge number of interactions between all markets, the Single market and the UK. It will be an important, broad FTA as the first chapter of this Association Agreement. Second chapter will be on international security, external security, defence, cooperation on foreign affairs. The third will be on internal security, justice and home affairs, what we have to do it naturally because Europol just exists, Euro just exists, and European arrest warrant exists. How it will work in the future? The fourth pillar will be the pillar of thematic cooperation: what will we do with Erasmus? How Britain will be involved in the research program Horizon 2020? How with Euratom? How on aviation? How with the fishery policy between our two countries?

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, EP coordinator for the negotiations with the UK (MEP), Our proposal is that to avoid the inflation of different government&rsquo;s structures for every of this topics and also to avoid different dispute settlements mechanism for every of this agreements. We use the format of Article 8 and Article 217 to make a broad, intense, detailed association agreement between UK and EU.

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, EP coordinator for the negotiations with the UK (MEP), There is no risk to falling apart if there is a will inside the European Union to reform itself. What you see in the public opinion is not a rejection of European Union, it is a wish to reform the European Union and this reform is absolutely needed.