During the plenary session (26-29 April 2021) in the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs debate on EU-United Kingdom (UK) Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Opening statement by Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force of the European Commission for Relations with the United Kingdom.This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

Joint debate on EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Opening statement by Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force of the European Commission for Relations with the United Kingdom

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, Thank you, President van der Leyen. And now I'd like to pass the floor to Mr. Michel Barnier, chief negotiator of the EU, before hearing from our rapporteurs. Michel, you have the floor.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Thank you President, dear David, madam President of the Commission, President of the Council, honourable members. I'd like to express my personal thanks for this exceptional invitation firstly. I'm aware of the honour, but I'm also very happy to be seeing you again quite sincerely.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, With your vote today we're now at the end of a very long path that we have followed together over the last four and a half years since the Brexit vote by a majority of UK citizens, and since the letter that Ursula van der Leyen mentioned triggered the Article 50 procedure. And I remember that there was a great deal of democratic debate in this House and the [...] resolution in 2017, where you set the principles underlying the negotiations, the vote on withdrawal on the 29th of January 2020.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And I haven't forgotten that moving moment when you said aurevoir to all of your British colleagues and then all of the discussions we've had on the new relationship. What all of these moments show, and many others, too, between the plenaries, the committee meetings, the group meetings that you held, the weekly meetings of the Brexit steering group or the UK coordination group, all of that showed the vigilance, the seriousness and the attention and confidence of the Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And I will tell you what I think. I think that through the unity of the 27 member states, which we worked on daily, this confidence of the European Parliament and the diligence of the parliament have been one of the strengths of the Union in the negotiations. And I say that as a former negotiator, and that's why I express my thanks firstly to you, David, and your predecessors as president, Mr Tajani, Mr Schulz, as well as all of the group presidents and the committee chairs and all of the members of the Brexit steering group and its chair, Mr Verhofstadt and all of the members of the UK Coordination Group, chaired by David McAllister.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And then all of the administrative assistance you've received, your staff, the interpreters. Over this four and a half year period, we've followed a method, we followed a goal and a prospect for the future. The message was quite clear, transparency, vigilance, dialogue here, but also in each of the capitals to where the national governments and heads of state, with the trade unions, with the economic operators, with civil society.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Transparency, that was one of the keys to our unity and the fact that we could each trust each other. Our objective was always, always to build a new relationship with the UK in spite of Brexit. And to ensure that this divorce, a divorce is always a bad thing, but that it would be as ordered as possible through the two treaties and then a prospective a prospect for the future?

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Well, actually, there were three points, really, that I would just like to comment briefly upon. First of all, this was your priority and my priority too, watch citizens, citizens rights and amongst their citizens are those that live in Ireland. Ireland, we don't look at it just in terms of goods, services and trade. Instead, men and women who need peace, which is very fragile. And that's why the President of the Commission was right when she said that for Northern Ireland, peace is very important.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, For Ireland, peace is very important. Everybody has to shoulder their responsibilities. And I know because I've worked with him for a long time, that Maros Sefcovic, will be taking that responsibility on board on behalf of the commission and I'd like to thank him. Everybody has to shoulder their responsibility and respect what they have signed up to. This is something that affects peace and lasting trust between the EU, the UK, Ireland, all of us.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, The second point was the single market, the principal asset that we have in global competition, which means that we are respected, we can defend our interests, our values. We have no right to undermine it and we have not undermined it. And it was necessary for the British who chose Brexit to take on board the very numerous consequences which were often underestimated or badly explained, but that they should shoulder the responsibilities of the choice that they made to leave the single market.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Then the third point was that of our lasting relationship with this great country a neighbour, a partner, a friend, the UK. There were so many risks and challenges facing us. We need to preserve the spirit of cooperation. I often thought about what was said by Jo Cox, the young British member of Parliament, when she gave her first speech in the House of Commons. We're talking about the UK, but I think this also applies to relations between the EU and the UK "We have far more in common than that which divides us".

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And that is why we all always ensure that these difficult negotiations, very difficult negotiations and times should be seen not just in terms of what is happening now, but in terms of the lasting relationship we want for the future. And in conclusion, President, honourable members, this is a divorce. It's a warning Brexit. And it's a failure, a failure of the European Union. And we have to learn lessons from it as politicians here in the European Parliament and Council, in the Commission, in all of the capitals.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, Why did 52 percent of the British vote against Europe? There are reasons for that social anger and tension which existed in many regions in the UK, but also in many regions of the EU. Our duty is to listen and understand the feelings of the people and the feelings of the people, this social anger shouldn't be confused with populism, and we should do everything to respond to that in each of the member states and at the union level and continue to show the value added of what we do together to ensure that we can be prosperous, independent, safe and secure.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, And that is what is at stake and will be discussed in the conference on the future of Europe, which will be opening in a couple of days. Honourable members, speaking to you for the last time, thanks to the President on this subject. Ladies and gentlemen, it was a genuine privilege for me and for the European Commission's team to work with you, with each and every one of your groups, no matter what their sensibilities are over these years.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, It was a privilege to work in a spirit of confidence, mutual respect, and often, I believe, friendship amongst us. Thank you. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, Tthank you, Commissioner Barnier. Thank you, Mr Barnier. Thank you for the work that you have done. Thank you for always having paid so much attention to Parliament. .

Joint debate on EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Opening statement by Michel BARNIER, Head of Task Force of the European Commission for Relations with the United Kingdom

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