Eurocrats say Oui
All 27 nations’ ambassadors give pact with PM the seal of approval... and victory in Westminster’s in sight, too
BORIS Johnson’s EU trade deal was given the seal of approval by European capitals yesterday – with Tory Brexiteers set to follow suit today.
EU governments unanimously voted to approve the post-Brexit deal, ending nearly ten months of drawn-out negotiations. The agreement will be applied on a provisional basis until the European Parliament formally votes on it next year.
Ambassadors on the continent have spent the past few days poring over the details of the 1,200-page pact before giving their initial backing.
‘We are happy and relieved that we got a deal,’ one EU diplomat present at the meeting said. ‘But the timeframes to implement this are tight.’
According to a leaked diplomatic note, members of the European Parliament have suggested February 23 as a possible date to ratify the agreement. In theory, MEPs have the power to veto the deal. But in practice, they will follow instructions from their national capitals.
Officials will now use what is known in EU jargon as ‘ written procedure’ – a way of taking urgent decisions without the time- consuming need to call a meeting of ministers or EU leaders.
A spokesman for the German government said the process should be completed tomorrow. It means the UK will avoid a disorderly Brexit when it leaves the EU’s single market and customs area on Thursday.
At home, it is believed Mr Johnson has seen off any potential rebellion from the European Research Group, who have spent
‘Free to govern as we see fit’
the weekend going through the document. The Eurosceptic Conservative group is expected to say this morning that it is generally happy that the agreement restores the sovereignty of the UK after almost half a century.
Even Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party yesterday said it believed the deal ensures that ‘we are free to govern ourselves as we see fit’.
Some Conservative MPs have called for tomorrow’s Commons vote on the agreement to be provisional as well – saying one day is not enough to consider it fully.
They want the Government to agree to weeks of debate in the new year to enable them to scrutinise the deal line by line, and then vote on it properly.
Last night the Democratic Unionist Party said it would vote against. Leader Arlene Foster said she was unhappy with the way the agreement treated Northern Ireland differently from Great Britain.
‘While recognising this agreement brings about tariff and quota-free trade between the UK and the EU and thus reducing the impact on the GB to NI’s trade flows, we still have many negative issues arising from the protocol,’ she said.
‘On that basis we will vote against this agreement. We will continue to work to mitigate the worst excesses of the separate Northern Ireland arrangements while exploring new opportunities. Our challenge will be to press the Government to get a better outcome in those areas where more work is needed.’
But there is no danger that Mr Johnson will not get his deal through Parliament. Only a handful of hardline Tories are expected to rebel, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has announced that his MPs will support it. However, as many as 20 Labour MPs are set to defy their leader. Most Tory ERG members are keeping counsel before its ‘star chamber’ of experts, led by Sir Bill Cash, delivers its verdict today.
Sir John Redwood, a senior Eurosceptic Tory MP, told Times Radio that on first impressions ‘there were some very big issues that we fought hard for that were secured’.
He said on his website that the agreement ‘clearly rules out any future jurisdiction or control by the European Court of Justice over the UK’. He added that there appeared to be an exit clause that could end the agreement. ‘These clauses appear to allow any UK government with political will to legislate as voters wish and to govern the UK as an independent country,’ he said.
Mr Redwood called for a bigger support package for the fishing industry and said that he needed further clarification over arrangements for Northern Ireland.
Yesterday, Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice said Mr Johnson’s agreement did represent a ‘form of Brexit’. ‘We are free as a sovereign independent nation again, politically free of the European
Court of Justice. We are free to govern ourselves as we see fit. However as expected Boris has oversold the deal and not been honest about certain aspects.
‘Once again, a Conservative prime minister has sold the fishing industry and coastal communities down the river, just like Ted Heath did in the early 1970s.’
The Post Office has said any parcel being sent from England, Scotland or Wales to an EU country from Tuesday should have a customs declaration form attached. The customs label comes into effect on January 1 but customers have been advised to start early to help avoid delays.