Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 27 April 2021 - Brussels

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement - The outcome of EU-UK negotiations (debate)

  Katarina Barley (S&D). – Mr President, I still remember very well 30 January of last year, the day when we said farewell to our British colleagues in this House. Many tears were shed that day and many tears have followed elsewhere – the tears of British citizens who had to leave their homes in Spain, young people who couldn’t live their dream of studying abroad, and the many at the Northern Irish—Irish border who see violence again in their region.

It is the citizens on both sides of the Channel that we should give our special attention to, as we are the people’s House. Many lives are affected by Brexit on both sides of the Channel, especially the many EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU. We owe it to the people – to the UK citizens and to the EU citizens – to do everything to fulfil the promise upon which the European Union once was founded: peace and trustful cooperation. We need to act in good faith, we need to work together on the world stage, and we need to always bear in mind that, while in some fields the UK and the European Union have now become competitors, in the overwhelming majority of arenas, we are still allies. So I say it with a German and a British heart: let’s get it on.