An association agreement can transform this Brexit nightmare... but we must build it now

Less than six months remain until the Brexit withdrawal agreement must be finalised at the European Council meeting of Oct 18-19.

Negotiations have had their ups and downs, but substantial progress has been made recently, with an estimated 80per cent of the Withdrawal Treaty finalised.

A number of tricky issues, however, remain to be addressed. One outstanding issue – which will dominate discussions in the coming weeks – is the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. David Davis suggested that this issue might not be dealt with until October, but this would be far too late.

The UK’S agreement, in principle, of a “backstop option” to ensure regulatory alignment is maintained in Northern Ireland after the UK formally withdraws was one of the key conditions opening discussions on the future relationship.

This option is a last resort geared toward preserving the Irish peace process, but an essential one. The UK Government rejected the EU’S “common regulatory area” proposal, but it is yet to offer an alternative. A credible proposal is needed swiftly.

Yes, it would be far more preferable to find a solution based on the future EU-UK trading relationship, but given the lack of proposals from the UK on what they would like our future relationship to look like in practice, this currently appears out of reach.

In order to avoid a trade negotiation resulting in additional barriers to commerce, the deep and special relationship that Theresa May regularly speaks of, must now be fleshed out. As Michel Barnier has stated, the EU stands ready to adapt to any change in the UK’S red lines, but there is no indication the Government will change course. Thus, the room for manoeuvre between the EU’S core principles and the UK red lines remains slight. While the EU was quick to decry the UK’S “cake and eat it” approach as cherry picking, the UK has likewise accused the EU of seeking to offer “the market access of Canada, with the obligations of Norway”.

‘The deep and special relationship ... must now be fleshed out’

The European Parliament and I believe that if we are to build the close future relationship both sides desire, we need a concept to escape these accusations. This is why the European Parliament recently adopted a more detailed concept for the architecture of a potential future EU-UK relationship, based on an association agreement.

Too often, those familiar with this term immediately think of the recent Euukraine association agreement, but in practice such agreements are more akin to a blank canvas. A box into which we can place different areas of cooperation on trade and economic relations, foreign policy and security, internal security and thematic co-operation. At its heart would be a deep and comprehensive free trade area.

Association agreements are flexible constructions, familiar to continental Europeans, and we know how to make them. Indeed, the first one was designed as a way to enable cooperation between the European coal and steel community and the UK, which had retreated from treaty negotiations in 1955.

Ultimately, it would surely be preferable to develop one overarching governance framework with one mutually agreed governance structure, rather than a nightmarish web of agreements made up of over a hundred bi-lateral treaties, as currently exists between the EU and Switzerland.

Besides, opting for the “Swiss route” would almost certainly lead to an extension of the transition agreement beyond 2020, whereas an association agreement could feasibly be signed provisionally at the end of the transition period, to be ratified later.

However, the preparations for an association agreement must start now.

Which is why the time for wishful thinking and kicking the can down the road is fast coming to an end. Tough decisions need to be made and pragmatism put before ideology, but I am convinced that the re-invention of an association agreement would allow both the EU and the UK to unlock a lasting deep and special partnership for the future.