What is the Role of the European Parliament in the Process of Brexit?

What will be the relationship between the European Union and the UK after Brexit - the guidelines for the future negotiations will be voted on at a European Council next week in Brussels. Previously, they were approved by the European Parliament at the Strasbourg session.

Tsvetelina Yordanova from BNT tells viewers about the rle of the Euroepan Pareliment in the process of Brexit. The video is part of the “The Bulgarian Travel across Europe” project.

15 days and one year remain until the United Kingdom ceases to be part of the European Union. At midnight on March 29, 2019, the British membership in European Union will be a closed page. But not quite. There will be one last chapter, called a transitional period - by the end of 2020. Then, in simple terms, the UK will have duties, but there will not have rights in the community.

Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament: Being a member of the European Union is not the same as being outside the European Union.

The European Parliament has a key role to play in the process of leaving. Negotiations take place between the European Commission and the British government, but the exit agreement should be voted on and approved by the MEPs. The Parliament folows the course of the negotiations in all its aspects, on one hand, negotiating the conditions for the transitional period and, on the other, the second phase of the negotiations - for the time when Britain will no longer be a member of the European Union. At 13^th of March meeting in Strasbourg, MEPs discussed future relations. Guy Verhofstadt heads the Steering Group for Brexit in the European Parliament.

We still have no UK proposal on future relations, such proposal is still missing. You mentioned Mrs. May's speech, but she repeats the red lines that have been known for two years. That is why we propose to start negotiating an agreement based on four pillars - one for trade, one for internal security, one for thematic cooperation - for example in the field of research, the Erasmus programme and one pillar - for external security and defence – an area, which I think our cooperation is very important, he said.

However, MEPs from the UK Independence Party of Nigel Farage reacted fiercely to what they see as pressure from Brussels.

Diane James, MEP from the UK Independence Party: Brexit means Brexit, and if you want a solid Brexit, you should know that every action has consequences! And for you, for the European Union - the consequences will be very, very heavy and very negative.

But such voices are weak compared to the dominant opinion that Brexit is a situation where everyone is losing.

David McAllister, Chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee: I believe that Brexit is a historic mistake and will have very negative consequences for the United Kingdom. We now need to be able to get the best out of this situation. But this is a divorce that is not demanded by the European Union.

David McAllister is a MEP from Germany, but has Scottish roots and British citizenship. For him, one of the most important questions is about the fate of the people whose life will most directly be affected by Brexit.

One thing is very clear here in the European Parliament - we want the rights of three and a half million European citizens in the UK and one million British citizens in the European Union to be preserved. We do not want people to suffer because of political games, he added.

Ensuring citizens' rights is one of the conditions set by Brussels to London. But the European Union insists on guaranteeing the rights not only to Europeans already living on the island, but also to those who will arrive there during the transitional period - that is to say by the end of 2020.

Claire Moody, MEP from the UK: We were a country of goodwill and welcoming foreigners from the European Union and from all over the world. This changed with this vote and with the campaign before it. The notion of us has changed. The country closes much more, now looking inward, instead of outside the world. And in the 21st century, with the problems we face, this is a disastrous prospect for my country. I hope that by 2020, we will return to this image - a welcoming country, but also something that is a synonym of British - pragmatic - country as we were and should still be.

For most MEPs, a significant issue is the lack of clarity from the British side on many key issues. But London is demanding a creative approach by Brussels. A European leaders' summit on March 23 should endorse the guidelines for negotiating future relations. But they are just guidelines for now. And the most important answers to the questions what Brexit will be, how it will change the UK, the European Union and the lives of millions of people - at this stage remain unclear.

Чуйте последните новини, където и да сте!
Последвайте ни във Facebook и Instagram
Следете и канала на БНТ в YouTube
Вече може да ни гледате и в TikTok
Намерете ни в Google News