Ashley Fox (ECR). – Mr President, we welcome the acknowledgment of the importance of our relationship, our common values, our close connections and our historical links. We share the aspiration for a strong and effective partnership covering trade, foreign policy, internal security and areas of thematic cooperation, but we cannot support a resolution which ignores the parameters set out by our Prime Minister. To suggest that the best solution would be membership of the single market and customs union, to pay into the budget and to accept the jurisdiction of the ECJ is to call for EU membership in everything but name. That would mean undertaking all the obligations of EU membership but with no say, which would be neither democratic nor sustainable.

Differences remain and tough talks lie ahead, but I believe there is nothing preventing us from reaching a unique and mutually beneficial agreement, reflecting the new rights and obligations, apart from the political will and a sense of pragmatism. It is overwhelmingly in the interests of both the UK and the EU27 to have a unique deal with the freest possible trade and the closest possible security relationship. Let’s make it happen.