BETA


2020/0382(NLE) EU/Euratom/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and EU/UK Agreement concerning security procedures for exchanging and protecting classified information

Progress: Awaiting final decision

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Joint Responsible Committee ['AFET', 'INTA'] HANSEN Christophe (icon: EPP EPP), SCHIEDER Andreas (icon: S&D S&D)
Committee Opinion PETI
Committee Opinion CULT VERHEYEN Sabine (icon: EPP EPP) Petra KAMMEREVERT (icon: S&D S&D), Christine ANDERSON (icon: ID ID), Laurence FARRENG (icon: RE RE), Niyazi KIZILYÜREK (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL), Salima YENBOU (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), Dace MELBĀRDE (icon: ECR ECR)
Committee Opinion PECH BELLAMY François-Xavier (icon: EPP EPP)
Committee Opinion AGRI LINS Norbert (icon: EPP EPP)
Committee Opinion ENVI CANFIN Pascal (icon: Renew Renew)
Committee Opinion EMPL ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ Lucia (icon: ECR ECR)
Committee Opinion BUDG
Committee Opinion ITRE BUŞOI Cristian-Silviu (icon: EPP EPP)
Committee Opinion JURI VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA Adrián (icon: Renew Renew)
Committee Opinion ECON TINAGLI Irene (icon: S&D S&D)
Committee Opinion AFCO TAJANI Antonio (icon: EPP EPP)
Committee Opinion DEVE TOBÉ Tomas (icon: EPP EPP)
Committee Opinion REGI ARIMONT Pascal (icon: EPP EPP)
Committee Opinion CONT HOHLMEIER Monika (icon: EPP EPP)
Committee Opinion LIBE LÓPEZ AGUILAR Juan Fernando (icon: S&D S&D)
Committee Opinion IMCO CAVAZZINI Anna (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE)
Committee Opinion TRAN DANIELSSON Johan (icon: S&D S&D)
Committee Opinion FEMM
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 58, TFEU 217, TFEU 218-p6a, TFEU 218-p7, TFEU 218-p8-a2

Events

2021/04/28
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 660 votes, to 5 with 32 abstentions, a European Parliament legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, and of the Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning security procedures for exchanging and protecting classified information.

Following the recommendation of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the International Trade Committee, Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the agreement.

On 24 December 2020, EU and UK negotiators concluded the Trade and Cooperation Agreement setting out the terms of future EU-UK cooperation. The agreement sets out the rules for the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

Parliament adopted a parallel resolution on the outcome of the EU-UK negotiations.

Documents
2021/04/27
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2021/04/22
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
Documents
2021/04/22
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
Documents
2021/04/15
   EP - Vote in committee
2021/03/08
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2021/03/08
   EP - Referral to joint committee announced in Parliament
2021/02/22
   EDPS - Document attached to the procedure
2021/02/09
   CSL - Legislative proposal
Documents
2021/02/09
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Documents
2021/02/08
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/02/05
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/02/05
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/02/04
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/02/04
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/02/02
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/02/01
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/02/01
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/02/01
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/01/28
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/01/28
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2021/01/28
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/01/28
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/01/28
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/01/27
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/01/27
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2021/01/27
   EP - TAJANI Antonio (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in AFCO
2021/01/27
   EP - TOBÉ Tomas (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in DEVE
2021/01/26
   EP - LINS Norbert (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in AGRI
2021/01/26
   EP - HOHLMEIER Monika (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in CONT
2021/01/14
   EP - ARIMONT Pascal (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in REGI
2021/01/13
   EP - TINAGLI Irene (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in ECON
2021/01/12
   EP - BELLAMY François-Xavier (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in PECH
2021/01/11
   EP - VERHEYEN Sabine (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in CULT
2021/01/11
   EP - VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA Adrián (Renew) appointed as rapporteur in JURI
2021/01/11
   EP - LÓPEZ AGUILAR Juan Fernando (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in LIBE
2021/01/11
   EP - DANIELSSON Johan (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in TRAN
2021/01/07
   EP - HANSEN Christophe (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in ['AFET', 'INTA']
2021/01/07
   EP - SCHIEDER Andreas (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in ['AFET', 'INTA']
2021/01/05
   EP - CAVAZZINI Anna (Verts/ALE) appointed as rapporteur in IMCO
2021/01/04
   EP - CANFIN Pascal (Renew) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2020/12/25
   EC - Document attached to the procedure
Documents
2020/12/25
   EP - Preparatory document
Details

PURPOSE: to conclude the EU/Euratom/United Kingdom Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the EU/United Kingdom Agreement on security procedures for exchanging and protecting classified information.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: on 30 January 2020, following the approval of the European Parliament, the Council adopted Decision (EU) 2020/135 on the conclusion of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. The withdrawal agreement entered into force on 1 February 2020 and provides for a transitional period during which Union law applies to the United Kingdom and on its territory in accordance with the agreement. This period will end on 31 December 2020.

On 25 February 2020, the Council adopted Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/266 authorising the opening of negotiations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on a new partnership agreement. The Commission was appointed as the Union's negotiator.

On 24 December 2020, negotiations were concluded and the Parties agreed on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and on the Agreement on security procedures for the exchange of classified information and its protection.

CONTENT: the draft Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the Security of Information Agreement fully respect the Treaties and preserve the integrity and the autonomy of the Union legal order. These agreements will not require the EU to amend its rules, regulations or standards in any regulated area. They promote the values, objectives, and interests of the Union, and ensure the consistency, effectiveness and continuity of its policies and actions.

The envisaged partnership is based on the recognition of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, as well as the fight against climate change and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Failure to comply with any of these essential elements shall entitle the Parties to terminate or suspend the application of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement or any supplementary agreement, in whole or in part. The Parties also affirm their willingness to ensure a high level of protection of personal data.

The draft Trade and Cooperation Agreement consists of three main pillars:

Comprehensive and balanced free trade agreement

The draft agreement:

- covers not just trade in goods and services, but also a broad range of other areas in the EU's interest, such as investment, competition, State aid, tax transparency, air and road transport, energy and sustainability, fisheries, data protection, and social security coordination;

- provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin;

- ensures a strong level playing field: all imports from the UK should comply with EU rules and regulations (e.g. technical rules and product standards, sanitary and phytosanitary rules, food and safety regulations, health and safety standards, environmental and consumer protection rules);

- establishes a new framework for the joint management of fish stocks in their respective waters;

- ensures a number of rights of EU citizens and UK nationals. This concerns EU citizens working in, travelling or moving to the UK and to UK nationals working in, travelling or moving to the EU after 1st January 2021;

- enables the UK's continued participation in a number of flagship EU programmes for the period 2021-2027 (subject to a financial contribution by the UK to the EU budget), such as Horizon Europe.

A new partnership for security

The draft agreement establishes a framework for law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. It recognises the need for close cooperation between national law enforcement and judicial authorities and EU agencies and bodies, in particular as regards the fight against and prosecution of cross-border crime and terrorism. It respects the status of the United Kingdom as a non-member of the EU outside the Schengen area.

Police and judicial cooperation is based on guarantees of respect for democracy and the rule of law, and effective protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals, including those enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. There are specific provisions on the suspension of cooperation in the event of serious and systemic failures in the implementation of any of these safeguards, as well as a specific dispute settlement mechanism.

A horizontal agreement on governance

The governance provisions clarify how the Trade and Cooperation Agreement should be implemented and monitored.

The Agreement provides for the possibility for the Parties to take swift, autonomous and operational measures to protect their interests, in particular in the areas of the level playing field (i.e. rebalancing measures, remedial measures) and fisheries (i.e. compensatory measures, remedial measures), as well as, more generally, in cases of serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties of a sectorial or regional nature.

The Partnership Council, composed of representatives of the Union and the United Kingdom at ministerial level, should monitor the implementation of the agreement.

Security for the exchange of information

The draft supplementary agreement on security procedures for the exchange of classified information and its protection sets out rules and modalities for the exchange of classified and unclassified sensitive information. It guarantees the secure treatment of sensitive information, based on the principle of the originator’s consent prior to the release of the information exchanged.

2020/12/01
   EP - BUŞOI Cristian-Silviu (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in ITRE
2019/09/03
   EP - ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ Lucia (ECR) appointed as rapporteur in EMPL

Documents

Activities

Votes

L'accord de commerce et de coopération entre l’Union européenne et le Royaume-Uni - The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement - Abkommen über Handel und Zusammenarbeit zwischen der EU und dem Vereinigten Königreich - A9-0128/2021 - Andreas Schieder, Christophe Hansen - Procédure d'approbation #

2021/04/27 Outcome: +: 660, 0: 32, -: 5
DE IT FR ES PL RO NL SE HU BE AT PT BG EL CZ DK SK FI IE LT HR LV SI EE MT CY LU
Total
94
74
78
59
51
33
29
21
21
21
19
21
17
20
21
14
14
13
13
11
12
8
8
7
6
6
6
icon: PPE PPE
172

Hungary PPE

1

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Latvia PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Malta PPE

2
2

Luxembourg PPE

2
icon: S&D S&D
144

Greece S&D

2

Czechia S&D

For (1)

1

Lithuania S&D

2

Latvia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Estonia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1
icon: Renew Renew
97

Italy Renew

2
3

Hungary Renew

2

Austria Renew

For (1)

1

Slovakia Renew

2

Finland Renew

3

Ireland Renew

2

Lithuania Renew

1

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

2

Estonia Renew

3

Luxembourg Renew

2
icon: ID ID
73

Netherlands ID

Against (1)

1
3

Czechia ID

For (1)

Against (1)

2

Denmark ID

For (1)

1

Finland ID

1

Estonia ID

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
63

Germany ECR

For (1)

1

Romania ECR

1

Bulgaria ECR

2

Greece ECR

1

Lithuania ECR

1

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Latvia ECR

2
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
72

Spain Verts/ALE

3

Poland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

3

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
37

Germany NI

2

Netherlands NI

1

Slovakia NI

Abstain (1)

2

Lithuania NI

1

Croatia NI

2
icon: The Left The Left
39

Netherlands The Left

For (1)

1

Sweden The Left

For (1)

1

Belgium The Left

Abstain (1)

1

Portugal The Left

4

Czechia The Left

1

Denmark The Left

1

Finland The Left

For (1)

1

Cyprus The Left

2

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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