During a meeting of the EP Committee on Constitutional Affairs (CONT), MEPs exchange views with Guy VERHOFSTADT (Renew, BE), EP Brexit Steering group's coordinator on the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union– state of play in the European Parliament in Brussels. Extracts from the exchange of views.

Brussels

exchange of views

VERHOFSTADT, Guy (Renew, BE)

Brexit (T)

article 50 of the Lisbon treaty (T)

meeting

ANDERSON, Martina (GUE/NGL, UK)

Committee on Constitutional Affairs

DURAND, Pascal (S&D, FR)

The withdrawal of the UK from the European Union - state of play: extracts from the exchange of views with Guy VERHOFSTADT (Renew, BE), EP Brexit Steering group's coordinator

SOUNDBITE (French), Pascal DURAND (RE, FR), (We support) Those who have been fighting in Britain,  for years now, trying to fight the lie that was brought by the Brexit-ers. And indeed, I want the Irish, the Scots, the British in the broadest sense, to know the solidarity that is ours in the battles that they lead to try to stay, as we all wish, to try to stay within the European Union, since we consider that Britain's place is obviously at our side, like Ireland.

SOUNDBITE (English), Martina ANDERSON (GUE/NGL, UK), In particular, when you have a domestic law that cannot justify noncompliance with an international legal obligation, then I think that is the work of this committee, of the AFCO committee. Because the British government's obligation includes full, direct effect and in the Withdrawal agreement provision it's provides for effective dispute settlement mechanism to ensure that full compliance.

So when we have a situation where we have a British government taken forward, a Withdrawal agreement bill that is incompatible with a mutual agreement and legal services are telling us that and we cannot have a situation where you have domestic law being non-compliant with international law, then that is something that is obvious of concern for this committee for citizens' rights and citizens' rights in the north of Ireland and citizens' rights across the EU because of the way that is being interpreted. I think the leaks have been mentioned with regards to the intention of the British establishment and why it removes the level playing field in the negotiations from the Withdrawal bill.

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, We have scrutinised the new agreement and we reached two conclusions. The first is that this Withdrawal agreement is mainly a copy of the previous Withdrawal agreement, with the exception on Northern Ireland to avoid the border. There is a solution, but the solution that has been found was in fact very near to the first proposal we did in the negotiations.

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, We are a little bit disappointed by the political declaration because it's less, let's say, ambitious on the future relationship than it was in the previous political declaration.. Previous political declaration was an association agreement with a broad number of a large number of corporations that has been at the request of the UK government downsized to an FTA. And then people are saying a level playing field. Is that guaranteed? Yes, because we have described, in fact, a level playing field in the new political declaration say that this FTA will be brought if there is an acceptance by the UK side of the living playing field in the broadest sense.

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, We have recalled at the Conference of Presidents the point of view that we only start really to ratify - the procedure on ratification &ndash; if first of all, the British parliament ratified. I think that we continue that line. But that doesn't mean that you cannot use the time between now and that moment to look into what is the most the biggest priority for the parliament : the citizen's right. That is what we are doing.