Posėdžio stenograma

Antradienis, 2023 m. kovo 14 d. - Strasbūras

19. Susitarimo dėl JK išstojimo iš ES įgyvendinimo ataskaita - Vindzoro sistema (diskusijos)

  Sēdes vadītājs. – Nākamais darba kārtības punkts ir kopīgās debates par

- Pedro Silva Pereira ziņojumu Konstitucionālo jautājumu komitejas vārdā par īstenošanas ziņojumu par līgumu par Apvienotās Karalistes izstāšanos no ES (2020/2202(INI)) (A9-0052/2023) un

- Komisijas paziņojumu par Vindzoras regulējumu (2023/2596(RSP).

  Pedro Silva Pereira, rapporteur. – Mr President, Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, dear colleagues, time flies. Believe it or not, almost seven years have passed since the Brexit referendum and more than three years have gone since the entry into force of the withdrawal agreement.

As rapporteur for the implementation of the Brexit agreement, I am glad to say that, fortunately, we are here not only to assess what happened in the last three years, where the story to tell is not always pleasant, but also to look into the future of the EU-UK relations in light of the recently announced Windsor framework, a new joint understanding about the terms for a more flexible but also more effective implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

This development is of utmost importance. The UK’s continuous breach of its agreed legal commitments under the protocol was by far the most serious issue in the implementation of the withdrawal agreement. The lack of customs checks in the Irish Sea and the insufficient sharing of customs data with the EU obviously endangered the integrity of the EU single market.

It’s worth recalling that the Northern Ireland Protocol was the agreed solution to prevent a physical border on the island of Ireland so that the Good Friday Agreement is fully safeguarded while protecting the integrity of the EU single market. A dialogue on a flexible but effective implementation of the protocol, as many times suggested by the European Commission, was always the right thing to do, not unilateral actions.

Besides the new customs data sharing arrangements, the key element of the Windsor framework is a distinction between a green lane in the Irish Sea with no border controls for goods entering Northern Ireland for final consumption there in Northern Ireland and the red lane with EU customs and sanitary and phytosanitary procedures for those goods entering Northern Ireland but at risk of entering the EU single market. Together with the so-called ‘Stormont break’, allowing for Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly to stop in exceptional circumstances future regulatory divergences introduced by the EU.

This joint understanding gives us reasons to believe that an important turn of a page can happen in the EU-UK relations. Moreover, we hope to see power-sharing returning to Northern Ireland so that we can all properly celebrate the 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement.

Therefore, as rapporteur for the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, I propose to the European Parliament that we warmly welcome the announced Windsor framework and, to that effect, I table a few amendments updating the report in respect of this important development. Furthermore, I would like to warmly congratulate Vice President Maroš Šefčovič and all his team for this remarkable political achievement.

One last word on citizens’ rights, a top priority for this Parliament. We welcome the UK establishment of the EU settlement scheme, under which 7 million European citizens have asked for the recognition of their residence rights. 55% of those got the permanent settled status. But however, we note that 39% of the applicants – about 2.7 million – only got the so-called ‘pre-settled status’. So we will monitor the situation to ensure that they get the permanent status as soon as they fulfil the legal requirements.

And, finally, we still ask the British Government to provide a document serving as physical proof of residence rights so people don’t have to face practical difficulties in their daily life. So improvements are still needed for sure, but I believe that hope should be the right tone for today’s debate.

  Seán Kelly, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on International Trade. – Mr President, into the breach comes Kelly. I welcome the political agreement on the Windsor Framework and commend particularly Vice—President Šefčovič and his team on achieving this result, which is the product of much effort and patience. The new arrangements address the real—life concerns of citizens and businesses in Northern Ireland, while also ensuring that the EU single market is protected through a number of safeguards. It is a balanced agreement, grounded on an understanding of trust between the EU and the UK – trust which I hope we can continue to build on as we move forward. I support, in particular, the efforts made by the Commission to give Northern Irish politicians and stakeholders a voice in the governance of the Protocol, especially through the Stormont Brake. This is an important and welcome development.

Now the focus turns to making this agreement a reality. In the Parliament here, I think we will take the necessary steps to implement the new arrangements as swiftly and as effectively as possible. But we will also need political will and responsible leadership, especially from the DUP, in order to make the agreement effective. I hope that can be achieved.

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, I sincerely hope to see the Windsor Framework implemented and to return to power—sharing in Northern Ireland. Stability and certainty will allow citizens and businesses to avail of the economic opportunities that the new agreement provides for Northern Ireland, and ensure that the next 25 years will be as much about prosperity as the last 25 years was about peace. It is time that we put these long and drawn—out discussions on the Protocol behind us. I hope now that we can move forward with a constructive and forward—looking EU-UK relationship. And again, thanks to all involved and especially, once again, Commissioner Šefčovič, who was outstanding all through this process.

  Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, first and foremost, thank you for your invitation to this joint debate on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and the recent developments around the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. I very much welcome the opportunity to discuss the important progress made in the relationship between the EU and the UK. I believe that this is very well captured in the report and in particular the amendments reflecting the recent important progress in our relationship that Mr Pedro Silva Pereira put forward today. And I want to thank him not only for this timely report, but also for our excellent cooperation over the years. And my gratitude and thanks goes to all honourable Members in the UK Coordination Group and the many bilateral meetings we have had, I would say with almost everyone in the room, when we’ve been discussing this very important relationship with the United Kingdom. Honourable Members, the United Kingdom, as we discussed in our previous meetings, is an important partner and a close political ally for the EU, with our excellent cooperation in support of our Ukrainian friends being a testimony to that. In our discussions, protecting the rights of citizens after Brexit was of the utmost importance and I was reminded of that by the discussions we had, be it in UKCG or in our bilateral meetings. And I really would like to reassure all honourable members that it remains a priority for us to ensure that beneficiaries of the withdrawal agreement continue to enjoy the same rights and benefits. But we also knew it was vital not only to fix the problems of today, but to set our bilateral relationship down the right path to overcome the issues of tomorrow. And for that, we needed to find solutions to the challenges that have emerged in the implementation of the protocol over the past two years. In recent months, we have had intensive talks with our UK counterparts in order to find these solutions, solutions for real-life concerns around the operation of the protocol affecting people and businesses on the ground. President von der Leyen and Prime Minister Sunak have been in regular touch throughout the process. I have also remained in regular and close contact with my counterpart, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, but also the State Secretary responsible for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, and the Commission and UK government teams spared no efforts to find joint solutions and I can tell you that they’ve been working very, very hard.

I am delighted to say that this hard work, determination and political will has delivered results. As you know, on 27 February, a new way forward – the Windsor Framework – was announced by President von der Leyen and Prime Minister Sunak. A way forward that consists of joint solutions that will address in a definitive manner the concerns and challenges we have experienced over the last two years. A way forward that protects the legitimate interests of both the EU and the UK. A way forward that addresses all areas concerned – food, medicines, Customs, VAT and excise, state aid, tariff rate quotas, Governance and stakeholders’ engagement. These solutions respond to the concrete needs of people and businesses in Northern Ireland, but they also have been carefully crafted so as to ensure that the EU single Market is protected. In particular, the role of the European Court of Justice has not changed. It remains the sole and final arbiter of EU law. But there is now a strong political commitment to solve future challenges together before they turn into disputes. Vitally, the time of unilateral action is behind us. We welcome the public commitment from the UK Government that the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is stopped from proceeding in the UK Parliament and will thus fall. The Windsor Framework allows us to turn the page and work with mutual trust on fully implementing our agreements because the solutions we have found together are co-owned and are therefore set to be fully implemented by both sides. Honourable Members, the Windsor Framework is an important achievement for both the UK and the EU. Its implementation is the key. On our side, we know that we can count on the support of this House to deliver on important legislative proposals that are a key part of the joint solutions. Your support, as always, will be crucial, and I know that, thanks to our collective work, we can look to the future with confidence.

As Mr Seán Kelly underlined, next month will see the celebration of the 21st anniversary of the Good Friday Belfast Agreement. Our work on the Windsor Framework will allow us to continue to protect the hard-earned peace gains emanating from that momentous accord. The Framework is there to benefit people in Northern Ireland and support all communities celebrating peace on the island of Ireland. And with the last 25 years being about peace, the next 25 years should be about peace and prosperity.

  Peter Jahr, Verfasser der Stellungnahme des mitberatenden Petitionsausschusses. – Herr Präsident, Herr Vizepräsident Šefčovič, meine sehr verehrten Damen und Herren! Jeder EU-Bürger mit Wohnsitz im Vereinigten Königreich hat das Recht, eine Petition an das Europäische Parlament gemäß Artikel 227 des Vertrages über die Arbeitsweise der Europäischen Union zu richten. Auch Bürger des Vereinigten Königreichs, die ihren Wohnsitz in der Europäischen Union haben, behalten das Recht, Petitionen an das Parlament zu richten.

Der Petitionsausschuss des Parlaments hat 262 Petitionen im Zusammenhang mit dem Brexit und 25 im Zusammenhang mit mutmaßlichen Verstößen gegen das Austrittsabkommen erhalten. Welche Probleme haben sich hier offenbart? Zum einen die Anforderungen des EU Settlement Schemes; das heißt, dass EU-Bürger einen zweiten Antrag an das System stellen müssen, um das unbefristete Aufenthaltsrecht im Vereinigten Königreich zu erhalten, ist problematisch und setzt die Bürger einem größeren Risiko aus, wenn sie ihr Aufenthaltsrecht nicht ausüben können, und das innerhalb der gesetzlichen Fristen.

Das Vereinigte Königreich hat sich aus dem Programm Erasmus+ zurückgezogen und sich entschieden, nicht als Drittpartnerland am neuen Programm Erasmus+2021-2027 teilzunehmen, was zulasten von Forschung, Studium, Ausbildung und Austausch für junge Leute gehen würde. Da wäre es eine gute Sache, wenn die Teilnahme des Vereinigten Königreichs an EU-Programmen zugunsten junger Menschen in Großbritannien und der EU im Austausch für die erforderlichen finanziellen Verpflichtungen zugelassen werden würde. Es gibt also noch einiges zu tun! Packen wir es an, seien wir optimistisch und lösen wir die Probleme im Interesse der Menschen.

  Danuta Maria Hübner, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, Vice—President Šefčovič, colleagues, I agree with you, Vice—President, we are at the beginning of a new chapter in the EU—UK relations, this time hopefully based on trust.

With the Windsor framework, we have a set of practical solutions to the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The deal will lower the cost of doing business and settle the flow of goods from Great Britain into Northern Ireland without breaching EU single market rules. It strikes a careful balance between facilitations for the UK and effective safeguards for the EU single market. It brings the Northern Irish economic, political and civil society stakeholders into the framework.

Now we must set in stone this agreement in principle as soon as possible, and the Commission urgently needs the mandate to adopt the framework at the next EU-UK joint Committee meeting. I hope that the agreement will open the path to solving other pending issues and that the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill will be promptly and fully withdrawn, as promised by the UK Government.

It is noteworthy that the Windsor framework does not address citizens’ rights, which are subject to the withdrawal agreement and are covered by Pedro Silva Pereira’s implementation report. As of December 2022, under the settlement scheme, 181 000 EU citizens were still waiting on a decision on their pre-settled status, most of them for more than six months, uncertain about their immigration status and the reunification of their families.

It is positive to hear that the UK Home Office will not appeal the UK High Court’s December 2022 ruling, according to which the Home Office had wrongly interpreted the withdrawal agreement. I hope the Home Office will take all the necessary steps to swiftly apply the ruling, communicate it effectively to EU citizens and not deprive citizens of their rights under the withdrawal agreement.

Finally, I hope that the implementation of the UK’s EU Retained Law Bill will not undermine the UK’s obligations under the withdrawal agreement, including the protocol, and the TCA not damage the enforcement mechanism.

  Thijs Reuten, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, colleagues, first off, congratulations, Commissioner Šefčovič, for an agreement that fully respects the red lines set out by our Parliament. And I appreciate that Mr Sunak also seems to have broken with the past. For seven long years, his Tory predecessors milked Brexit for cynical political purposes to the very last drop, and floating more illegal ‘Braverplans’ won’t help them now.

Suffice to say that with the UN Refugee Convention in hand, the Illegal Migration Bill truly is illegal. And this is exactly why the Tories will be trashed in the polls. UK citizens are sick and tired of this kind of fabricated outrage. They want leadership, and I sincerely hope that Mr Sunak will show such leadership by scrapping also the Retained EU Law Bill in its current form.

To be very clear, literally nobody in Brussels or in the rest of Europe wants a trade war, and I very much hope the same goes for London. But taking an axe to workers’ rights, environmental standards and social protection risks ripping out the very heart of our trade and cooperation agreement.

To the people of Northern Ireland. I want to congratulate them on a very fair agreement. Maturity and flexibility led to this deal on both sides, and what was delivered is crystal clear evidence that good-faith negotiation always beats Boris bluster.

The DUP should understand this is the best deal you will ever get, and I urge you to take responsibility, support the Windsor framework and return to Stormont so we can jump-start our new relationship as partners, as friends to ensure prosperity and security in Europe for all our citizens.

  Nathalie Loiseau, au nom du groupe Renew. – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Commissaire, cher Maroš, le premier ministre britannique Rishi Sunak a salué avec enthousiasme l'accord politique de Windsor sur l'Irlande du Nord. Je le comprends, même si son enthousiasme est peut-être un peu précoce. Il faut encore que l'accord soit soutenu par le Parlement britannique et que nous-mêmes votions sur plusieurs points importants. Mais enfin, je comprends Rishi Sunak, car cet accord est susceptible de mettre fin à des années d'incertitude pour la population d'Irlande du Nord depuis le Brexit, alors même qu'une majorité de cette population avait voté pour rester dans l'Union européenne.

Cet accord va le plus loin qu'il nous soit possible d'aller. Il va même très loin pour limiter les conséquences négatives du Brexit pour les populations d'Irlande du Nord. On comprend que Rishi Sunak soit content. Dans son enthousiasme, le premier ministre britannique s'est réjoui que l'Irlande du Nord ait la chance d'avoir accès à la fois au marché britannique et au marché unique européen. Rishi Sunak a raison, mais derrière son sourire, il y a un terrible aveu. Ce qu'il vante comme une chance extraordinaire, c'est ce dont disposait tout le Royaume-Uni quand il était membre de l'Union européenne. C'est ce qu'il a perdu en la quittant.

  Terry Reintke, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, dear colleagues, this Windsor framework is good news. It is good news for the people in Northern Ireland. It is good news for the people in the whole of the UK and it is good news for the people in the European Union.

And it shines a light on the value of trustful cooperation, something that was badly missing from the negotiations between the EU and the UK, at least from some people in the past. And in the aftermath of the announcement of the agreement, Rishi Sunak actually praised the unique position of Northern Ireland being part of the UK’s and the EU’s market.

And I can only congratulate him for the clarity and insightfulness of his words, because yes, indeed, being part of the EU single market makes you strong. It means more prosperity, it means less red tape and it means more freedom. And, if you ask me, if we are being honest, the whole of the UK should actually benefit from these advantages and not only Northern Ireland.

Colleagues, in a world where we see aggressive autocrats trying to take more power, it is important that democracies work together, and this agreement is a step into the right direction for that.

  Geert Bourgeois, namens de ECR-Fractie. – Voorzitter, collega’s, wij zijn heel tevreden dat er eindelijk een werkbaar akkoord is voor het Noord-Iers protocol – met een kleine caveat, weliswaar, voor de Stormont-noodrem. Alle dank gaat naar commissaris Šefčovič, die het hele proces lang geduldig, flexibel en pragmatisch handelde.

Collega’s, dit akkoord kan een scharniermoment zijn. Ofwel gaat het met het Britse wetsontwerp tot schrapping van EU-regelgeving de verkeerde kant op, ofwel komen we met de pragmatische eerste minister Sunak tot een hernieuwde samenwerking in veel domeinen. Ik denk aan Horizon Europe. Ik denk aan energie, migratie, klimaat en defensie. Verder, een duurzame samenwerking voor een blauwe economie in en rond de Noordzee. En tot slot, collega’s, mijn stokpaardje: een trilateraal partnerschap EU/VS/VK in de Handels- en Technologieraad.

Kortom, een nieuwe invulling van een oud bondgenootschap.

  Gunnar Beck, on behalf of the ID Group. – Mr President, Brexit proved that Article 50 is more than a dead letter and that, whatever the difficulties, it is possible to leave the EU. The Windsor Agreement too is good news to Eurosceptics. It shows that playing hardball with the EU may yield dividends. The Windsor Framework limits the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, it creates the unique situation where Northern Ireland is partially in and partially outside the single market, certain EU rules on VAT and excise duties will still apply, but subject to exceptions governed by UK fiscal rules, while EU state aid rules are scaled back and won’t apply to UK subsidies to Northern Irish farmers.

If Belfast can have tailor—made exceptions to EU rules, why not EU Member States?

More importantly, the Northern Irish Assembly will be able to veto new EU rules on customs, goods and agriculture from applying in Northern Ireland. If Belfast acquires the right to veto new EU regulation, why not full EU Member States? The Windsor Agreement proves that à la carte association with the EU is possible. Countries may suit themselves but also reap the benefits of free trade and wider cooperation. All such sensible arrangements require is for the EU and the French and German Governments to abandon their inflexible obsession with the uniform application of EU law and their misguided vision of an EU empire, and instead to accept that the EU should return to what it should have always been: a confederation of independent states which acknowledge their common, as well as divergent, interests.

In 2015, when I was still an academic in Britain, I chose to support Brexit. I thought Britain broadly had a good deal within the EU, but I was also convinced that the EU, led by Merkel, would press ahead with ever closer union and further down the road to economic perdition. Exactly that has happened. The EU has become the stagflation zone of the developed world.

Sadly, in Britain, the situation seems just as dismal. EU enthusiasts blame Brexit. I disagree. In fact, after Brexit, the UK Government continued to follow EU policies. It deliberately exaggerated the health risks of the corona crisis. It fell prey to climate hysteria. It failed to curb both mass migration and the woke culture, which stifles rational thinking. The UK Government has made mistakes, but outside the EU these can be corrected. The Windsor Agreement and recent attempts to reform UK asylum law are a good start.

  Chris MacManus, on behalf of The Left Group. – Mr President, Commissioner Šefčovič, colleagues, first we want to welcome this report and to thank Pedro for all his work.

In all the arguments about checks and controls in the Irish Sea, developments about human rights have got very little attention. I'm very pleased that the report stresses the importance of Article 2 on the non-diminution of rights. The language of hostility to human rights by British Government ministers is extremely unhelpful.

Be clear, the European Convention on Human Rights is the foundation of the Good Friday Agreement. If it does come to pass that Britain leaves the Convention, they will have to put in place a system whereby those rights continue to apply in the north of Ireland.

I also welcome recognition of the importance of engagement with the Belfast Assembly. The application of parts of EU law in the north of Ireland means that their elected representatives have an important role to play in shaping laws that apply to them.

The European Parliament has an important role in engaging in dialogue with Assembly Members and other stakeholders in the North. We must formalise a direct relationship between this Parliament and the Assembly. In all the discussions about Brexit and implementation of the protocol, our priority has been to uphold the Good Friday Agreement.

The Good Friday Agreement is the constitutional framework of the north of Ireland. It gives the same legitimacy to the idea of a united Ireland as it does to the continuation of the link with Britain. The future constitutional status of Ireland is for the people of Ireland, north and south, to decide. The Good Friday Agreement has brought 25 years of peace and progress. There was never any reason to link the restoration of the institutions to the Irish Protocol.

Now that an implementation agreement has been reached in Windsor, there is an onus on the British Government to move the DUP in the coming weeks, so to restore the assembly and executive without delay. The people of the north of Ireland deserve no less.

  Ernő Schaller-Baross (NI). – Mr President, first of all, thank you, Commissioner, for your very constructive words. The United Kingdom did not leave Europe by Brexit, but only the European Union. ‘Europeanness’ is not measured by membership in an organisation, but by respecting national self-determination, culture, history and constitutional tradition – a field in which the United Kingdom has always excelled.

Further to that, it was not the UK who could not keep their EU membership. The EU was unable to keep a powerful country that remained realistic compared to federalist ideas. We are sad that we lost the UK as a member state, but we respect the democratic decision of its people.

Now the UK is a natural ally of the European Union and of the European nation states. The EU should conduct a pragmatic and respectful dialogue towards the UK that is finally worthy of Europe.

  David McAllister (PPE). – Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, over the past two years of relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union were shaped by challenges that have indeed emerged in the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Particularly at a time of serious geopolitical challenges, a stable and trustful cooperation is crucial. For this reason, like many other colleagues, I welcome the Windsor framework that was announced on 27 February. This is a welcome and long-awaited step in the right direction which should allow us to open a new chapter in our relationship.

Let me congratulate Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The agreement shows that practical and shared solutions to the challenges in the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland can be found. It highlights that joint efforts to find bilateral solutions to mitigate the consequences of Brexit can ensure stability and predictability for people and businesses in Northern Ireland, while at the same time maintaining the integrity of our EU single market.

The Windsor framework also reflects the EU’s long-standing commitment to protect the Belfast Good Friday Agreement in all its parts. The timely implementation of the solutions identified in the Windsor framework is key now. As the European Parliament, we will deliver on the legislative procedures as quickly as possible.

Let me also thank Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and his team for the great work and for the excellent cooperation with Parliament. You can count on our continued support.

  Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D). – Señor presidente, gracias al vicepresidente Maroš Šefčovič, no solo por su presencia, sino por haber negociado el Marco de Windsor, que es una norma de interpretación del Protocolo que nos permite salir de la situación en la que nos encontrábamos. Por tanto, enhorabuena. Enhorabuena también, por supuesto, a mi querido colega Pedro Silva, el ponente del informe sobre la ejecución del Acuerdo de Retirada.

Yo creo que tenemos que tener en cuenta varios elementos. En primer lugar, tal vez, seguir muy de cerca la utilización en la práctica —si es que se utiliza, que esperemos que no— del llamado freno de Stormont, porque es verdad que, hasta que no lo veamos en la práctica, no podemos calcular exactamente qué consecuencias puede tener su activación.

También aprovechar el nuevo clima, porque al fin y al cabo este es el debate de las relaciones entre la Unión Europea y el Reino Unido, para recuperar algunos elementos de cooperación que en su día —Maroš, lo recordarás— propusimos en el acuerdo sobre la relación futura, que en aquel momento el primer ministro Boris Johnson decidió retirar, como la cooperación en política exterior y de seguridad y otros elementos importantes.

También en este sentido, tenemos que expresar nuestra preocupación con la propuesta de ley migratoria que ha hecho recientemente el actual primer ministro, respecto de la que ya Ylva Johansson ha declarado que es contraria, obviamente, al Derecho internacional, dada esa intención de denegar el derecho de asilo a las personas que lleguen por el canal de la Mancha al Reino Unido, y que tiene implicaciones también en lo que respecta a nuestra política migratoria.

  Barry Andrews (Renew). – Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues. First of all, congratulations to Commissioner Šefčovič and his team and to all of the interlocutors on achieving the Windsor Framework. It’s a great breakthrough.

I think the next stage is patience, unfortunately, and more patience. We’ve demonstrated – well, you’ve demonstrated – towering patience, I have to say, in the face of very difficult interlocutors from time to time. But we need more patience so that the political participants in Northern Ireland can take the time to have the discussions necessary in order to fully understand and clarify the implications of this new framework that is going to create a constitutional architecture in Northern Ireland that is new. So I think we should demonstrate patience – that’s really important.

There is only one Windsor Framework, but there’s already a number of interpretations of the Windsor Framework. So one of the things that I will be doing in the next few months is to bring MLAs to Brussels and Strasbourg, under the heading of common understandings, so that we can proceed from a position of strength to create a prosperous future for Northern Ireland.

VORSITZ: NICOLA BEER
Vizepräsidentin

  François Alfonsi (Verts/ALE). – Madame la Présidente, le Brexit a été une mauvaise décision. Elle impacte négativement l'Union européenne, tout comme elle impacte négativement le Royaume-Uni. Et, au sein du Royaume-Uni, l'Écosse, le Pays de Galles et l'Irlande du Nord subissent les conséquences les plus graves de cette décision. Je rappelle que l'Écosse et l'Irlande du Nord ont voté très largement contre le Brexit et qu'elles en subissent les conséquences contre leur volonté.

Face à cette situation négative, l'accord de retrait et l'accord de coopération commerciale tels qu'ils ont été négociés sont les meilleurs garants pour en atténuer les conséquences. Sous la direction de l'ancien premier ministre Boris Johnson, le Royaume-Uni s'était engagé dans une voie très négative. La proposition de loi interprétative des accords passés, qui avait été déposée unilatéralement par le gouvernement britannique, était un très mauvais signal. L'Accord de Windsor, qui vient d'être négocié, prévoit le retrait de ce projet de loi qui dénaturait le protocole sur l'Irlande du Nord. C'était absolument nécessaire pour établir la confiance mutuelle dans les négociations.

Les évolutions positives depuis la prise de responsabilités du nouveau premier ministre Rishi Sunak permettent, si elles se confirment, de reprendre le fil du dialogue et de prendre en compte durablement les intérêts de l'Irlande. Le rapport de notre collègue Pedro Silva Pereira a suivi de près ces évolutions. Le texte final que notre groupe va voter demain situe bien les enjeux. Aller de l'avant, reconstruire une confiance durable avec les dirigeants britanniques. Et vigilance car, qu'on le veuille ou non, la relation entre l'Union européenne et le Royaume-Uni depuis le Brexit a durablement changé de nature.

  Michiel Hoogeveen (ECR). – Voorzitter, het Windsor-raamwerk is een nieuw hoofdstuk in de relaties van de EU met het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Via de groene rijbaan kunnen goederen weer vrij over de Ierse Zee verhandeld worden en vermijden wij een harde grens. Noord-Ierland kan weer dezelfde belasting heffen als de rest van het Verenigd Koninkrijk en we zullen geen berichten meer zien over lege schappen.

De vraag die zich opwerpt is waarom het allemaal zo lang heeft geduurd. Waarom ging de EU nu wel akkoord, akkoord met een deal waarvan Von der Leyen zei dat deze nooit mogelijk zou zijn? Het laat zien dat zelfs de grootste EU-federalisten de uitslag van het referendum van 2016 eindelijk hebben geaccepteerd. Het VK is onze bondgenoot, niet een opstandige provincie. Want wie heeft er nou bezwaar tegen een betere relatie met onze naaste buur en belangrijkste handelspartner?

Laat dit de start zijn van een diepe samenwerking met het Verenigd Koninkrijk, van defensieaanbestedingen en wetenschappelijk onderzoek tot gelijkwaardigheid in financiële diensten. Een goede buur is beter dan een verre vriend.

  Gilles Lebreton (ID). – Madame la Présidente, chers collègues, le droit des peuples à disposer d'eux-mêmes est un droit fondamental. On ne peut pas, sans contradiction, comme l'a fait l'Union européenne, en défendre le principe tout en interdisant au peuple britannique d'en bénéficier. Le peuple britannique a décidé en 2016, par référendum, de quitter l'Union européenne. C'est son choix souverain qu'il faut respecter.

Je regrette que, comme la Commission, le Parlement européen n'ait pas cessé depuis de stigmatiser le Royaume-Uni, comme il le fait encore dans le rapport Silva Pereira. Le paragraphe deux de ce rapport affirme par exemple avec une certaine acrimonie que, je cite: «Le Brexit s'est révélé préjudiciable pour toutes les parties concernées et plus encore pour le Royaume-Uni».

Or, j'estime que le Parlement européen n'a pas à juger de ce qui est bon ou non pour ce pays. C'est là l'affaire du peuple britannique. Soyons plutôt positif et allons de l'avant. Ce qui importe, c'est de voir si l'accord de retrait de 2020 a été convenablement appliqué. À cet égard, le pessimisme du rapport me semble déplacé pour deux raisons. D'abord parce qu'il met volontairement l'accent sur les difficultés d'application plutôt que sur les succès. Les difficultés d'application était inévitable. Il ne fallait pas espérer qu'on arrive à régler en deux ans tous les problèmes générés par un accord de retrait aussi complexe.

Ce qui compte, c'est que les succès sont incontestables. Le Royaume-Uni a par exemple bel et bien mis en place un statut de résident permanent pour certains ressortissants de l'Union, comme il s'y était engagé. Autre exemple de succès, l'Autorité de contrôle indépendante fonctionne et a même exercé un recours devant la justice britannique, qui a débouché sur une condamnation d'une mauvaise application de l'accord par le gouvernement du Royaume-Uni.

La deuxième raison pour laquelle le pessimisme du rapport est déplacé tient au cadre de Windsor, qui vient de démentir ses sombres analyses sur l'Irlande du Nord. Cet accord gagnant-gagnant préserve le marché commun de l'Union tout en répondant aux légitimes inquiétudes du Royaume-Uni de deux façons. D'abord, en créant des corridors verts qui lui permettront d'exporter de Grande-Bretagne des marchandises destinées uniquement à l'Irlande du Nord, avec des formalités administratives réduites. Ensuite, en instituant un frein d'urgence permettant au gouvernement britannique, à la demande du Parlement de Belfast, d'empêcher l'application en Irlande du Nord de certaines nouvelles dispositions de l'Union.

Un seul point me semble en définitive encore poser problème, il porte sur la compétence de la Cour de justice de l'Union, mal acceptée par le Royaume-Uni, qu'il serait sans doute préférable de remplacer par un tribunal arbitral spécialisé sur l'Irlande du Nord.

  Željana Zovko (PPE). – Madam President, it’s very strange, after so many years being a student in the UK and after Erasmus also, to discuss this famous agreement that has been reached, the Windsor Agreement. Well done, Commissioner Šefčovič, to you and your team, and I hope that we will continue on this path with the other files that we have on microstates, because everyone is looking to what we are doing with the UK.

After so many years, it’s quite sad that we are also discussing the peace agreement, the Good Friday Agreement, and well done to all those who contributed so that we no longer have to fear a hard border. I lived in London during the years when this instability caused many fears, and I think this is the greatest achievement that President von der Leyen has achieved with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. This is something that we should praise at the European Parliament after the sad fact that the UK has left us.

So, on behalf of the Cult Committee, we will be doing and assessing the damage that has left on all those who are not privileged and who were beneficiaries of Erasmus exchanges. And we need to build bridges in the future with the UK, with their students and also with our young people. These damages in the future can be enormous if we don’t return to Erasmus. That’s something to be discussed in the future.

  Bernd Lange (S&D). – Madam President, the famous movie Belfast and the music of Van Morrison is really giving a wonderful impression of feeling about the situation in Northern Ireland. You know from this movie, but also from the discussion we had so far, how important it is to de-escalate. Thanks a lot, Maroš, for de-escalating, for your patience, for engagement, because a trade war is really not in the interest of anybody.

Van Morrison is singing, ‘Don’t look back to the days of yesterday. You cannot live in the past.’ I hope that this agreement is really a door open more for the future. We will have the revision of the TCA in 2025. We will discuss the Erasmus accession of the United Kingdom. We have to discuss the financial services, the fish agreement and so on.

Perhaps it’s really now a better way for the future, for better cooperation between the EU and the United Kingdom. Van Morrison is singing at the beginning of the movie, ‘Coming down to joy.’ Perhaps we can sing along with him one day.

  Sandro Gozi (Renew). – Madame la Présidente, les engagements pris doivent être tous tenus, pacta sunt servanda. Sur ces points, jusqu'à aujourd'hui, cher Vice-président de la Commission européenne, nous avons été fort déçus par nos amis d'outre-Manche. Grâce à l'accord de Windsor, nous pouvons tourner la page sans la déchirer. Vous avez dit way forward? Très bien. C'est une très bonne nouvelle, notamment pour les citoyens britanniques, qui subissent de plein fouet tous les effets négatifs du Brexit. Un point d'attention cependant.

Cela doit être une bonne nouvelle aussi pour la plus grande réalisation européenne qui est le marché unique. L'Accord de Windsor, à travers ce qu'on appelle le Stormont brake, donne la possibilité à 30 députés d'Irlande du Nord de s'opposer à l'application dans leur province d'une loi européenne. Il s'agit d'une procédure exceptionnelle conçue sur le modèle de l'accord de paix de 98 et qui ne peut par conséquent créer aucun précédent dans le reste du marché unique.

C'est une autre preuve bien concrète de notre volonté d'établir une nouvelle relation avec nos amis britanniques, qui doit être toujours basée sur une confiance mutuelle.

  Anna Cavazzini (Verts/ALE). – Madam President, the announcement of the Windsor framework was a relief, and I can only join the colleagues who congratulated Mr Šefčovič. Thank you very much for the past years of your very patient negotiations.

I think all of us remember the last two years of political attacks against the protocol by those who negotiated and signed it on the UK side, and we lost so much time and trust. What is now on the table, I think, is really an acceptable deal. People in Northern Ireland will be able to get their English bread or frozen sausages with minimum overhead for traders. Northern Irish manufacturers will be able to get machine parts or ingredients from Great Britain and sell finished products everywhere in the UK, but also in our internal market.

Of course, simplifications require protections. And I also say this as Chair of the Internal Market Committee. The EU access to customs data and our ability to suspend some of the simplifications in case they disfunction is crucial for protecting our single market. In that sense, the new arrangements are clear improvements compared to the current situations where little or no control happened at the entry doors of our single market.

  Inma Rodríguez-Piñero (S&D). – Señora presidenta, quiero empezar expresando mi satisfacción y la de mi grupo por el acuerdo alcanzado. Gracias, vicepresidente Šefčovič, por conseguir una vía de entendimiento, por cumplir con lo acordado y superar las tensiones y desafíos derivados de la implementación del Protocolo de Irlanda del Norte. Confiemos en que la magnífica historia de cooperación entre el Reino Unido y el resto de Europa no vuelva a truncarse y continúe en el futuro.

Una vez superado el bloqueo político inicial, debemos centrarnos en mantener la coherencia regulatoria, vital para la fortaleza del mercado único europeo y británico. Sabemos que el Brexit y el incumplimiento de los compromisos en nada han beneficiado a la economía y la política británicas, que han sufrido un gran deterioro y desprestigio, ni a los ciudadanos, que han padecido la pérdida de empleos y el desabastecimiento de productos, fenómenos acentuados por la COVID y la guerra.

En todos ellos hay que pensar para seguir desarrollando la buena relación, coordinación y cooperación que pretende el Marco de Windsor. Y en este sentido, le pido, señor vicepresidente, si es posible, que especifiquen el nuevo mecanismo de emergencia del freno de Stormont. El Reino Unido y la Unión Europea somos aliados y amigos, y en los tiempos que corren esto es muy valioso.

  Samira Rafaela (Renew). – Madam President, so I think many of us would agree still that Brexit was a strategic, political and economic mistake. It was expected to have a negative impact on our trade, on our companies, on our jobs and on our people. But we need to move forward. And therefore the Windsor framework will give now economic security for a lot of people who were waiting for this security.

So I would like to applaud also the European Commission for doing so much and putting so much effort in it, because we need to make sure that we have effective trade and economic relationships now with the UK. We need to keep working together to make sure that we can face the new geopolitical challenges in the world. And we also need to make sure that we stick to the rules.

And this is exactly why we need a framework, this is exactly why we need an agreement. I am pretty sure that we can work on sustainable trade relations, that we can work on the creation of more jobs – green, fair, responsible. But we need to make sure that we stick to the rules and that we will keep having these dialogues to make sure that we can do this together effectively with the UK.

  Beatrice Covassi (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, saluto e ringrazio anch'io il Vicepresidente Maroš Šefčovič. È un onore prendere la parola per la prima volta in quest'Aula, da questo luogo, la casa di tutti i cittadini europei

Voglio ricordare l'importanza di difendere il nostro bene più prezioso, essere parte del progetto europeo, unica garanzia di benessere e prosperità per le generazioni future. La triste parabola della Brexit ci insegna quanto possano essere gravi e negativi gli esiti di una politica irresponsabile basata su fake news e un'ideologia antieuropea.

I recenti accordi di Windsor sulle regole commerciali in Irlanda del Nord rilanciano i rapporti bilaterali, dopo anni di clima negativo che ho respirato anch'io da diplomatica dell'Unione europea a Londra. Si apre, ora, una nuova pagina, ma dobbiamo rimanere vigilanti sia sui diritti dei cittadini europei nel Regno Unito, sia sugli sviluppi legislativi come il progetto di legge Retained EU law che rischia di creare nuove regole divergenti e barriere commerciali.

Onorevoli colleghi io farò la mia parte in qualità di membro della nuova Assemblea parlamentare EU-UK. Lavoriamo insieme per favorire il dialogo e costruire ponti in una prospettiva che vogliamo continuare a sognare come comune.

  Charles Goerens (Renew). – Madame la présidente, Monsieur le Commissaire, le rapport d'exécution est à la fois une évaluation de la manière dont se sont accommodés tant le Royaume-Uni que l'Union européenne de leur séparation, et une démonstration par l'absurde d'une situation dans laquelle nous ont manoeuvrés les populistes.

En clair, le rapport confirme la situation perdant-perdant créée par le Brexit. Le Parlement européen a eu raison dès le début d'opter pour une stratégie de limitation des dégâts. Néanmoins, l'absurdité atteint son paroxysme lorsque des citoyens européens ne pouvant présenter un visa de travail aux autorités sont immobilisés dans des centres de rétention. Quelle régression! À ce stade, des comportements analogues du côté de l'Union européenne ne sont pas signalés. Espérons qu'il en sera encore ainsi pour les années à venir.

Autre preuve de la régression, la perturbation des chaînes d'approvisionnement. Au moment où l'Occident devrait faire preuve de cohésion, nous sommes davantage occupés à colmater les brèches plutôt que de nous concentrer sur les défis communs. Un dernier mot sur le Windsor Framework, négocié après l'adoption de notre rapport par AFCO. Cet accord tient compte des impératifs de la realpolitik certes. Le Stormont brake, toutefois, devrait rester une exception absolue, ne pouvant en aucun cas créer un précédent susceptible de polluer les débats des accords ultérieurs.

  Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Verts/ALE). – Madam President, 20 years ago, the Good Friday Agreement was signed. This major step will be commemorated with the importance it deserves.

Sadly, for more than a year now, the Assembly in Northern Ireland has not been sitting. In its absence, citizens in Northern Ireland have struggled to access health care and financial support for energy bills. Polling shows that those in favour of restoring the Assembly in Northern Ireland and those who support the Windsor framework are young people and women. But because of the institutions not fully functioning, young people and women are also among those seriously affected by the lack of access to basic care and by inflated energy prices.

What matters most to people in Northern Ireland, as everywhere else in Europe, is everyday issues. As often is the case, when identity politics are instrumentalized and take up all the political space, it comes at the cost of people's needs. This is not only about the relationship between the EU and the UK. We also must consider the rights of citizens in Northern Ireland. The EU has a responsibility to protect the Good Friday Agreement, to prioritize the rights of citizens and to contribute to maintaining peace and democracy on the island of Ireland.

  Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, first and foremost, allow me to express my gratitude for the support you express for the Windsor Framework, for all the kind words to the teams and to myself. I cannot underscore how important it was to feel the support of this House, to be absolutely clear that we have unified European support, of all the institutions, the Member States, the pursuit of the best possible solution in the negotiations with the UK, and to be able to contact you, to be in touch with you and also to share with you the negative and positive news, because we had them quite a lot over the last two years.

I think that today we are all referring to a very important achievement, represented in the Windsor Framework. But before I get to that, I would just like to respond to one of the first interventions we heard today, from Mr Jahr and Ms Hübner, because it concerns our citizens and I know their rights are important to you. I would like to assure you that they are very, very important for us as well. To make it clear: if it comes to the issue of pre-settled to settled status, it was rightly pointed out that the UK High Court has ruled that this formality was unlawful. And the Commission, as you know, has joined these proceedings next to the UK Independent Monitoring Authority. The good news is that the UK Home Office will not appeal this decision and will implement the ruling, as Ms Hübner just said. And I think this is the good news, but we know that there are still some issues which need our vigilant approach. They will have it, and I can assure you that, for us, the rights of citizens will always remain a priority.

Several honourable Members have been saying that this new way forward in the frame of the new Windsor Framework will allow us to open a new chapter in our EU-UK relationship and that this would be a relationship which will be based on mutual trust. This was expressed by Ms Reintke and Ms Loiseau. I believe that this relationship will be driven by cooperation, which is rightfully so important for two such important neighbours, partners, allies and trade partners as well. And I think that through this common approach and through that new way of resolving the issues, we are creating new opportunities and, I hope, a prosperous future also for Northern Ireland, because we’ve been working very hard on how we can even improve and make stronger the involvement of the Northern Ireland stakeholders in the dealings of the Protocol. I think that from the last year of getting familiar with the day—to—day issues, understanding better the demands, the problems, the issues which need to be solved, this has been very helpful for the last, very important chapters of these negotiations. I believe that through close cooperation with the UK Government, we found the right responses to these issues. And I believe that this new approach, the joint solution and this close cooperation, will also guide us when we discuss new areas for future cooperation. Mr Kelly, Mr Bourgeois, Mr Lange, Ms Covassi just highlighted some of the areas where close allies and good neighbours should go, and we would of course explore all of them.

I would like to thank Ms Cavazzini for highlighting the importance of the Windsor Framework, but also for underscoring the importance of the single market and the fact that what we did was to look for new modern technology for data—sharing, for the possibility of remote checks, to really look for out—of—the—box solutions which would guarantee, on the one hand, the integrity of the single market and, on the other, would do it in an efficient way. I believe that we have achieved that.

To conclude, once again, I would like to thank all the colleagues in the House for their close cooperation, for their support. I would like to thank Mr Pereira for his report. Of course, our relationship with the United Kingdom is massive, so I am sure there will be a lot of issues to talk about. There will be a lot of discussions about the future cooperation, and I am very much looking forward to it. But thank you very much for all your supportive remarks.

  Pedro Silva Pereira, rapporteur. – Madam President, I thank you and our colleagues for your support and the shadow rapporteurs for their cooperation. Despite the continuous resentment of some Eurosceptics here and radical Brexiteers on the other side of the channel, the positive tone of this debate shows that for this Parliament, time is come for cooperation, not confrontation.

Building on our common history and on our common values, we must be able to build with the UK a strong partnership to meet the common challenges we face from the war in Ukraine, the related challenges on defence, security and geopolitical issues, the energy crisis, the supply chain disruptions, climate change, migration, you name it.

The confrontation against the EU is not only dangerous for the stability in Northern Ireland, it is also simply absurd from the point of view of our common economic interests. So I hope that in the near future we can talk a little bit more about the Trade and Cooperation agreement and a bit less about the withdrawal agreement.

For that to happen, of course, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has to secure sufficient political support in the UK and probably also in Northern Ireland. But one thing is certain: this is a great opportunity, it cannot be wasted.

  Die Präsidentin. – Die gemeinsame Aussprache ist geschlossen.

Die Abstimmung findet morgen, Mittwoch, 15. März 2023, statt.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171 GO)

  Sara Cerdas (S&D), por escrito. – Três anos após a entrada em vigor do Acordo de Saída do Reino Unido, o Parlamento Europeu apresenta o primeiro balanço sobre a sua implementação, incluindo o recente acordo-quadro de Windsor.

Desde o Acordo de Saída que os direitos dos cidadãos sempre foram uma prioridade para o Parlamento Europeu. Este tem manifestado preocupação sobre a falta de apoio a pessoas vulneráveis com dificuldades em gerir os procedimentos digitais estabelecidos pelas autoridades do Reino Unido. Verifica-se que um número elevado de cidadãos da UE apenas obtiveram o chamado «estatuto pré-estabelecido», e que terão de candidatar-se novamente para regularizar o seu estatuto de residente permanente, o que pode conduzir a uma «perda automática e ilegal dos seus direitos». Esta situação afeta milhares de cidadãos provenientes de países como Portugal, em especial das regiões ultraperiféricas, que se fixaram no território britânico à procura de trabalho.

Melhorias importantes ainda precisam ser feitas para salvaguardar os direitos dos cidadãos, em especial para disponibilizar maior segurança jurídica aos cidadãos da UE e do Reino Unido e às suas famílias.

  László Trócsányi (NI), írásban. – Már elmúlt három éve, hogy az Egyesült Királyság elhagyta az európai integrációt. A szigetország hiányát gyakran érezzük, azonban állampolgárai demokratikusan meghozott döntését fájdalommal tiszteletben tartjuk. A kilépés óta eltelt évek számos nehézséget hoztak magukkal. Nem csak egy tagállam elvesztése, de újabb és újabb kihívások tették próbára az Európai Uniót. A tárgyalt jelentés célja az említett három év tapasztalatainak áttekintése lenne. A reflexió lehetővé tenné, hogy levonjuk a következtetéseket az új együttműködés gyakorlati vonatkozásairól, illetve hogy megtaláljuk a módját annak, hogy miképp tudunk ebben a nehéz helyzetben is a korábbi feszültségek ellenére szorosabban együttműködni.

Sajnálatos, hogy a jelentéstevő szándéka jelentősen eltér az Egyesült Királyság és az Európai Unió közötti jó kapcsolatok ápolásától. Miközben a Bizottság konstruktív tárgyalásos megállapodásra jutott az Egyesült Királyság kormányával, az Európai Parlament pártpolitikai okokból kárhoztatja a szigetországot. Ahelyett, hogy a Parlament örömmel üdvözölné az északír jegyzőkönyvvel kapcsolatos elvi politikai megállapodás megszületését és az Unió és az Egyesült Királyság közötti feszültségek tárgyalásos úton való rendezését, a Parlament kritikákat fogalmaz meg az Egyesült Királysággal szemben és akadályozza a nézeteltérések békés rendezését. Az Európai Parlament – mint általában – tanári szerepben szeretne tündökölni ahelyett, hogy ebben az esetben a hallgatás lehetőségéhez folyamodott volna.

  Tom Vandenkendelaere (PPE), schriftelijk. – Onder voorbehoud van verwachte bevestiging door de Raad, maakt het akkoord dat onlangs werd bereikt tussen de Europese Commissie en de Britse regering – het zogenaamde Windsor-kader – de volledige uitvoering van het terugtrekkingsakkoord en de handels- en samenwerkingsovereenkomst mogelijk. We juichen dit akkoord toe. Het opent vele perspectieven voor de nieuwe betrekkingen tussen de EU en het VK. De handels- en samenwerkingsovereenkomst heeft immers veel potentieel, dat in het belang van beide partners zo goed mogelijk moet worden aangesproken, weliswaar met inachtneming van twee rode lijnen die door de Commissie werden verwoord: de overeenkomst mag zelf niet worden veranderd en er kunnen geen nieuwe initiatieven worden genomen die niet reeds voorzien zijn in de overeenkomst.

Ik ben erg ingenomen met de uitzondering die in toepassing van deze laatste regel wordt gemaakt voor een bijkomende structurele samenwerking op het gebied van buitenlands beleid, met inbegrip van veiligheids- en defensiebeleid. Het belang hiervan heb ik al meermaals beklemtoond, en dat daar nu de nodige bedding voor wordt gecreëerd, verdient alle aandacht en ondersteuning. In het licht van de huidige geopolitieke context en van de uitdagingen en dreigingen waar we op wereldschaal mee worden geconfronteerd, spreekt dit initiatief duidelijk genoeg voor zichzelf.