European Parliament Outlines its Post-Brexit Vision

A “deep and comprehensive” trade deal of the kind the U.K. says it wants with the EU would require Britain to accept a “binding convergence mechanism” with EU laws, according to a draft resolution from the European Parliament obtained by POLITICO.

The uncompromising 13-page document — titled “Motion for a resolution to wind up the debate on the framework of the future EU-UK relationship” — is a statement of the Parliament’s priorities for the U.K.’s exit as set out by the Brexit Steering Group led by Guy Verhofstadt.

It proposes an “association agreement” between the EU and the U.K., and makes clear that the EU has “binding common rules, common institutions and common supervisory, enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms” which mean that even closely aligned non-EU countries cannot “enjoy similar benefits or market access.”

The Parliament does not have a formal role in the Brexit negotiations but it will have a binding vote on the eventual deal. The draft resolution — the fourth issued by the Parliament on Brexit — is designed to put pressure on the EU and U.K. to take heed of MEPs’ wishes.

Many of the 65 clauses in the document, which is a draft and therefore subject to change, read as a direct rebuttal of the vision of Brexit that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May set out in her Mansion House speech last week.

She is pushing for an ambitious trade deal that includes financial services and allows the U.K. to remain closely aligned to the EU in some areas of the single market but not others.

By contrast, the European Parliament text states that:
— “A third country [cannot] have the same benefits as a Member State of the European Union, or an EFTA/EEA Member.”

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