Activities of Christophe HANSEN related to 2020/2023(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Preparation of the European Council meeting of 19 June 2020 - Recommendations on the negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (debate)
Preparation of the European Council meeting of 19 June 2020 - Recommendations on the negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the European Parliament recommendation on the negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Amendments (17)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU mandate, adopted by the Council on 25 February, lays the groundwork for aPolitical Declaration is the yardstick for the negotiations and establishes the parameters of an ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership across trade and economic cooperation with a comprehensive and balanced Free Trade Agreement at its core, law enforcement and criminal justice, foreign policy, security and defence and wider areas of cooperation; whereas the EU mandate, adopted by the Council on 25 February on that basis, constitutes the negotiating framework that envisages a strong and comprehensive new partnership between the EU and the UK, forming a coherent structure and an overall governance framework; whereas the EU will not accept the UK's piecemeal approach, which seeks to negotiate a series of separate, self- standing agreements;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the EU is seeking to establish a comprehensive new partnership with the UK that covers theshould maintain its efforts and determination to negotiate an agreas of interest outlinedement as clearly foreseen in the Political Declaration:, trade and economic cooperation, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal mato which both parties, including the UK Prime Ministers, foreign policy, security and defence, and thematic areas of cooperationsigned up on 17 October 2019, and the negotiation mandate;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas as a third country, the UK cannot have the same rights and enjoy the same benefits as a member and the situation in both the EU and the UK will therefore change significantly as of January 2021; whereas the UK's geographic proximity, level of interconnectedness and high level of existing alignment with EU rules should be taken into account in the future partnership agreement, as the EU made it clear from the start that the more privileges and rights the UK seeks, the more obligations will come attached;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas, if an agreement cannot be reached, both sides would have to be prepared for very dramatic changes to their economies, which will be aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis and its expected economic consequences;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. whereas the current time pressure in the negotiations is merely the result of the UK's choices;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 a (new)
Subheading 1 a (new)
Regrets that, following three rounds of negotiations, no real progress has been achieved, with the exception of very small openings on a limited number of areas;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 b (new)
Subheading 1 b (new)
Reiterates that the EU stands firm that tangible progress must be achieved in all areas of negotiations in parallel, including on the level playing field, fisheries, internal security and governance, as outlined in the Political Declaration; emphasises that all negotiations on economic issues are indivisible and the EU will not agree to a Free Trade Agreement without having sufficient level playing field guarantees and a satisfactory agreement on fisheries; thus fully supports the Commission in defending the comprehensive draft treaty as proposed by the EU at the outset, instead of agreeing to separate agreements;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 c (new)
Subheading 1 c (new)
Welcomes the publication, even if belated, of the UK draft legal proposals; notes that, contrary to the UK's claims of using existing precedents, many of these proposals go significantly beyond what has been negotiated by the EU in other FTAs with third countries in recent years; recalls that any final agreement has to be based on a balance of rights and obligations;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Underlines that the EU Chief Negotiator has the Parliament's full and unwavering support for insisting that level playing field guarantees are a crucial element of any agreement with the UK, as this is not dogmatism or ideology from the EU's side but a prerequisite to establishing an ambitious and balanced partnership with the UK and preserving the competitiveness of the internal market and EU companies, as well as maintaining and developing in the future high levels of social, environmental and consumer protection;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Respects fully in this regard the sovereignty of the UK, which the EU has no intention of undermining in the current negotiations; recalls, however, that the UK will never be equal to other third countries due to its status as a former EU Member State, current complete regulatory alignment, and the significant volume of trade between both parties, as well as its geographic proximity to the EU, which all explain the necessity for strong and robust level playing field provisions in the agreement;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the fact that from the EU’s perspective, the aim of the negotiations is to establish a new partnership with the UK that is comprehensive and covers the areas outlined iat the EU should keep up its efforts and engagement to negotiate an agreement, as it has always indicated in the Political Declaration and in the negotiation mandate, on the Pfolitical Declarationlowing parts: trade and economic cooperation, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, foreign policy, security and defence, and thematic areas of cooperation; underlines, however, that the EU will not agree to a deal at any cost;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Emphasises the importance of being readyEU's readiness for the UK’s withdrawal from the internal market and the customs union at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations; stresses that the consequences will be even more significant should no agreement be reached, however the EU is ready for either scenario; welcomes, in this regard, the Commission’s sector- specific ‘readiness notices’, which seek to ensure that EU industry is ready for the inevitable shock that the UK’s withdrawal from the single market will cause;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls that the Withdrawal Agreement is the instrument for implementing the arrangements for the UK’s withdrawal and that the only purpose of the EU-UK Joint Committee is to oversee its application; underlines the importance ofat the effective implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement ais a precondition for the successful conclusion of an agreement with the UK and is a litmus test for the good faith that the UK brings to the negotiating process and; recalls that the outcome of the negotiations would be linked to itangible progress in the preparations for the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement needs to be seen as early as possible to allow for an informed consent procedure and cannot be left for the very end of the transition period;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Notes that contrary to the UK’s claim of relying on existing precedents, many proposals in the UK draft legal proposals go significantly beyond what has been negotiated by the EU in other FTAs with third countries in recent years, for example in the area of financial services, mutual recognition of professional qualifications and conformity assessment, equivalence of the SPS regime, or the cumulation of Rules of Origin;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Deeply regrets in this regard that the UK has so far refused to engage, notwithstanding its commitment taken in the Political Declaration, for instance on Public Procurement, maritime transport as well as the protection of future geographical indications, especially as the UK did include some of those topics in its negotiation mandates with the USA and Japan; furthermore regrets that the UK has so far not submitted a proposal on SMEs;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12 c. Recalls that the continued shared commitment to a zero quotas, zero tariffs objective for the trade relationship remains an essential condition for the timely conclusion of an agreement within the extremely tight timeline that none other than the UK has imposed on these negotiations, especially as previous experience has well demonstrated that a tariff-line by tariff-line negotiation could take several years; reiterates in this regard that irrespective of whether 100% or less tariff-lines are scrapped, this will not alter the EU’s demand for robust Level Playing Field conditions; reiterates that the level-playing field provisions must maintain environmental, social and employment standards at the current high levels provided by the existing common standards, relying on appropriate and relevant Union and international standards, and including appropriate mechanisms to ensure effective implementation domestically, as well as include a robust and comprehensive framework for competition and state aid control that prevents undue distortion of trade and competition instead of referring to subsidies only;