When EU’s fanatical extremists like the Brexit deal, be afraid.... be very afraid
MEPs on influential EU committees make clear their approval for EU’s deals with UK
Montage Facts4EU.Org, original © Liesje Schreinemacher MEP Twitter account / BBC
It has been a week when Brexit was firmly on the agenda at the EU Parliament
In Brussels this week, three influential committees of the EU Parliament discussed the UK-EU trade deal struck on Christmas Eve (2020). Overall it was clear that MEPs feel the EU has won – something which should set off alarm bells for pro-Brexit MPs in the House of Commons.
Firstly, the committee meetings, then our observations about what was said
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
1. International Trade Committee - first meeting on the new EU-UK deal - Monday 11 Jan 2021
At the first discussion of the EU-UK trade and partnership agreement concluded on 24 December 2020, MEPs of the International Trade Committee welcomed that "it had avoided the cliff edge of a no-deal that would have brought a disaster for citizens and companies". Several of them, including Heidi Hautala (Finland, Greens/EFA), said the outcome was “more satisfactory” than expected.
Liesje Schreinemacher (Netherlands, Renew) and other MEPs welcomed, in particular, the inclusion of standards in environmental protection, climate change and the labour area that cannot be undercut, and the prohibition of data localisation.
The Trade Committee Chair Bernd Lange (Germany, S&D) hailed the first sustainability chapter in EU trade deals that offers trade sanctions.
2. Fishing Committee - first meeting on the new EU-UK deal - Monday 11 Jan 2021
The Fishing Committee met on Monday and again on Thursday to discuss the four annexes occupying eight pages relating to fisheries in the UK-EU trade deal. No information is yet available on the outcomes. Perhaps the Fishing Committee members have all been too busy celebrating, to write up their notes.
3. Foreign Affairs Committee and International Trade Committee – joint meeting – Thur 14 Jan 2021
The summary of the combined meeting of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committees was that MEPs welcomed the agreement as a good solution, albeit thin. They regretted that many aspects, including the Erasmus programme, foreign policy, security and defence cooperation, were not included in the negotiations on the future partnership.
Kati Piri (Netherlands, AFET, S&D) said:
“Parliament’s red lines will continue to be central in the scrutiny process. I welcome the fact that the EU managed to secure a single, clear governance framework.... and will ensure robust compliance guarantees by the parties.”
Christophe Hansen (Luxembourg, INTA, EPP) said:
“It is a very thin agreement. But I welcome the fact that there are no quotas and tariffs, and with that we avoided falling back to WTO rules that would have hurt a lot of our sectors, including agriculture and cars.
“I regret very much that the UK decided not to take part in Erasmus. This jeopardises the future for 170,000 Europeans in the UK and 100,000 UK students in the EU. I also regret that future Geographical Indications are not covered, which is contrary to the Political Declaration.”
Factual correction for Mr Hansen: In his remarks about Erasmus+ he referred to “100,000 UK students in the EU”. In fact the EU’s own latest figures show that less than 10,000 UK students participated in 2018. That's 0.4% of all the higher education students in the UK.
Why do these MEPs even matter?
For the UK-EU ‘Trade and Cooperation Agreement’ to be ratified by the EU, it will need to have the consent of the EU Parliament in a formal vote. Originally the EU Parliament were given until 28 February to do this, but within days it seems that this deadline was already slipping.
By the 28th December – just four days after the deal was struck – the EU Commission was announcing: “The Conference of Presidents also decided to examine with the Council presidency and the Commission a proposal to slightly extend the period of provisional application, allowing for a parliamentary ratification during the March plenary session.”
In other words, the EU will probably not ratify the treaty for three months andf we believe it will take longer. The UK Parliament had just one day.
Observations
We tend to view most MEPs as the stormtroopers of the EU ‘Projekt’. Not all of these ardent Europhiles are very bright – some of them seem to be several stars short of an EU flag – but they are very committed. Some of them are so extreme they make fanaticism seem like a mere whimsy. [Please note that these are general observations, not directed at the MEPs quoted above.]
The comments of MEPs must be seen against this background. If a senior MEP says the deal with the UK is “more satisfactory” than expected, and many other key MEPs are “welcoming” it, then the translation is that “we’re over the moon” and “we can’t believe our luck”. If questioned, they would of course deny this and no doubt the UK Government would ridicule our interpretation.
We are not wrong, however. Having digested the Christmas Eve deal it does not surprise us, but it is nevertheless deeply disturbing to witness the ideological stormtroopers of Europhilia welcoming the UK-EU ‘trade deal’ so readily.
If this had been a normal, reasonable trade deal for both parties, most MEPs would have been screaming from the Brussels rooftops, before then quietly giving their consent. The fact that they are welcoming the deal should make the British public afraid.... Very afraid.
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[ Sources: EU Parliament | EU Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Fri 15 Jan 2021
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