Foreign relations of the European Union

OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument

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The Political Declaration on the Framework for Future EU-UK Relations

This paper looks at the Political Declaration on the Framework for the Future Relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, which was agreed by EU leaders on 25 November.

The Political Declaration

On 22 November 2018 the negotiators agreed a Political Declaration setting out the Framework for the Future Relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, which expanded on and replaced the earlier ‘outline’ political declaration of 14 November. The Declaration was endorsed by EU leaders at a special meeting of the European Council on 25 November 2018.

Legal status

The Political Declaration (PD) is not a binding legal document and it is unlikely that it will bind the parties to anything beyond a commitment to negotiate for a future relationship in good faith, which is set out in Article 184 of the Withdrawal Agreement.

Structure

The PD is structured in five parts: Part I: Basis for Cooperation Part II: Economic Partnership Part IV: Institutional and other Horizontal Arrangements Part V: Forward Process

Part I: Basis for Cooperation

• This section establishes that the future relationship should be based on the shared EU and UK values and principles such as respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law, working together globally, and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
• It includes the UKs commitment to respect the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights (rather than the ECHR itself) and the EUs and the EU27s commitment to the EUs Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Part II: Economic Partnership

• The PD calls on the UK and EU to agree an ambitious, wide-ranging future economic partnership.
• The economic partnership will cover trade in goods, trade in services and investment, and a number of sectors including financial services, digital, transport, energy and fishing.

Trade in goods

• The economic partnership should maintain the current situation of no tariffs or quotas on trade in goods between the UK and EU.
• There are no references to frictionless trade or a common rulebook for trade in goods, which were prominent features of the Chequers agreement.

Trade in services

• The PD leaves the settlement of trade in services and investment open for future EU-UK negotiations.
• On services and investment, the UK and the EU have an ambition to go well beyond the current commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and existing free trade agreements (FTAs).

Public procurement

The PD suggests that the UK and EU will open additional public procurement markets beyond those they are committing to open up via the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. The UK and EU may agree other measures that would encourage the two markets to be open to each other in practice.  There will be mechanisms for reviewing and remedying breaches of the procurement rules.

Financial services

• The PD recognises the interdependence of financial services across boundaries and the common interest in honest and sound markets and fair competition within them.
• The future basis of cooperation will be equivalence which is different, and less extensive, than the current system of passported services.

Part III: Security Partnership

Law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters

• The future relationship will cover arrangements across three areas: data exchange; operational cooperation between law enforcement authorities and judicial cooperation in criminal matters; and anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing.
• There will be arrangements for exchanges of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, DNA, fingerprints and vehicle registration data (Prm) and extradition arrangements; data-sharing arrangements for wanted and missing persons, exchange of criminal records and cooperation between the UK and Europol and Eurojust.

Foreign policy and defence

• The PD reiterates many of the principles of future cooperation in foreign policy and defence already agreed in the negotiations, such as the need for close, flexible and scalable cooperation that respects the autonomy of both Parties; structured consultation between the UK and EU at different levels; the exchange of information, and the need for close cooperation in Union-led crisis management missions and operations, both civilian and military.
• But there is limited detail on how such principles will be delivered.

Part IV: Institutional and Other Horizontal Arrangements

An overarching institutional will be underpinned by mechanisms for dialogue and arrangements for setting the direction and implementing the future relationship. Dispute resolution will be based on the dispute resolution mechanism in the Withdrawal Agreement.

Part V: Forward Process

• Once the WA is concluded and before the UK leaves the EU, preparatory work will begin for the formal negotiations on the future relationship.
• The priority will be to find alternative, permanent arrangements for ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Before withdrawal

Between the approval of the PD and the UK’s exit from the EU, both parties will engage in preparatory organisational work in order to enable formal negotiations on the future partnership to commence rapidly.

After withdrawal

A procedure for EU negotiation of agreements with third countries is set out. After formal negotiations are launched the UK and EU will negotiate in parallel agreements on the future relationship.

Review

Commons Briefing papers CBP-8454

REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on Defence of academic freedom in the EUs external action