Activities of Charles GOERENS related to 2020/2202(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation report on the Agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU - The Windsor Framework (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation report on the Agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU
Amendments (15)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the Withdrawal Agreement allowed for the orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU, avoiding a ‘cliff edge’; recalls that its negotiation was a historic yet cumbersome and lengthy political process, during which both parties have put forward considerable political, administrative, financial and other resources; points out this was a period of deep uncertainty for the EU-27 and the UK and their respective stakeholders;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that, as expected, Brexit has proven to be damaging for all concerned, and even more so for the UK; points out that it would have been much worse without the Withdrawal Agreementan orderly withdrawal;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that the Withdrawal Agreement provided the legal framework for safeguarding citizens’ rights; avoiding a ‘hard border’ on the island of Ireland and respecting the Good Friday Agreement, while protecting the integrity of the EU’s single market; ensuring a fair financial settlement; and establishing effective dispute settlement and joint institutions to monitor and enforce its implementation;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that the Withdrawal Agreement provided the legal framework for safeguarding citizens’ rights; avoiding a ‘hard border’ on the island of Ireland and respecting the Good Friday Agreement, while protecting the integrity of the EU’s single market; ensuring a fair financial settlement; and establishing joint institutions to monitor its implementation;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that some important improvements are still to be made to safeguard citizens’ rights and that the first three years of the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement have been tarnished by the UK’s continuous breaches of its commitments and the threat thereof under the Protocol;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Recalls that the Withdrawal Agreement has direct effect on the EU’s and UK’s respective legal orders; points out that its provisions can be invoked directly in national courts by the legal subjects concerned; underlines that any contradictory national implementing measure must be disregarded and cannot be enforced;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that the Withdrawal Agreement provides that all EU citizens who were legally residing in the UK and all UK nationals who were legally residing in an EU Member State onand continue to do so after 31 December 2020 enjoy the full set of rights as established under EU law, and interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU);
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Notes that the deadline for most EU citizens to apply for settled status lapsed on 30 June 2021; calls on UK authorities to honour the spirit of the Withdrawal Agreement and be lenient when considering applications submitted after this deadline;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reiterates its view that greater certainty would be provided to EU citizens in the UK if they were issued with a physical document as proof of their right as residents; reiterates its position that a declaratory system would provide even more legal certainty for the citizens concerned while alleviating the administrative burden on British authorities;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is concerned about the difficulties faced by UK nationals in clarifying their status in some EU countries; welcomes the Commission’s initiatives to provide guidance to the Member States in this respect; calls on the Member States with a constitutive system to consider adopting a declaratory system or elements thereof
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recalls that the Protocol was agreed as a compromise to safeguard the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and prevent the establishment of a physicalhard border on the island of Ireland, while protecting the integrity of the EU single market; recalls, furthermore, that the final version of the Protocol was in fact proposed by the UK Government, leading to the abandonment of the previous version of the ‘backstop’;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Strongly regrets the UK’s lack of political will and failure to act in good faith and in compliance with its commitments under the Protocol; denounces the UK’s unwillingness to comply with the applicable customs requirements, supervision requirements and risk controls on the movement of goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain; regrets the UK’s unwillingness to transpose and implement applicable EU legislation on excise duties, including on alcohol and alcoholic beverages, as well as VAT; regrets, in particular, the lack of support given to the EU staff in charge of monitoring customs checks in the Irish Sea, the insufficient access to UK customs data and the successive unilateral grace periods that have undermined border checks, in clear breach of the Protocol;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Expresses strong concerns about the recently proposed Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, whereby the UK Government insists on unilaterally disapplyingcease to comply with key provisions of the Protocol; recalls that a bilateral agreement cannot be changed unilaterally; calls on the UK Government to immediately withdraw this proposal, refrain from unilateral action and fully implement the agreements that it has signed; encourages EU and UK negotiators to find a joint solution and ensure the Protocol is upheld;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Expresses its complete support for the legal initiatives launched by the Commission in order to ensure the full implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement; calls on the Commission to expedite the pending infringement proceedings against the UK; welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on the enforcement mechanisms welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on the enforcement mechanisms of the Withdrawal Agreement and the TCA; underlines that the enforcement toolbox under the TCA could also be used to strengthen the enforcement of the Protocol;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the fruitful cooperation in this area and the fact that the EU and the UK have reaffirmed their commitment to complying with their financial obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement; however, draws attention to the considerable disparity between estimates of the net financial settlement made by the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility and the European Commission; calls on the European Commission to leverage all instruments at its disposal to avoid any budgetary uncertainty and ensure all financial commitments under the Withdrawal Agreement are paid out in full;