Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 30 January 2020 - Brussels

Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (A9-0004/2020 - Guy Verhofstadt)

  Matthew Patten (NI). – Madam President, I’m really proud to have voted for the Withdrawal Agreement and to uphold the democratic mandate of the British people to leave the European Union. While the Agreement is deeply imperfect, I was really heartened by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s promises on divergence, ending the rule of the European Court of Justice, fishing and promising no extension.

Mr Verhofstadt’s speech yesterday only confirmed my view that Britain leaving the EU is the right decision. He said the reason for Brexit was because the EU had given too much, too many opt-ins and opt-outs. His future is for the EU to take over complete sovereignty from its Member States. This is not the lesson of Brexit. The lesson is that the drive from an economic union to an overbearing political superstate, distant from the daily lives of its citizens, will always end in failure.