Connect with us

Brexit

EU toughens #Brexit resolution after David Davis says Irish border agreement not legally enforceable

SHARE:

Published

9 years ago

on

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

David Davis's efforts to convince the European Union that his words had been "twisted" appear to have fallen on deaf ears, with officials apparently toughening up the language of a resolution to be agreed this Friday (15 December), writes Catherine Neilan. 

Yesterday the Brexit secretary rowed back on comments he had made in the Andrew Marr Show, namely that the government's commitments over the Irish border, were "more of a statement of intent than it was legally binding".

He told LBC: "They’ve completely twisted my words, I’m afraid," insisting the deal - which resulted in the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker recommending that sufficient progress be granted - was in fact "more than legally enforceable".

But the EU appears unconvinced. At yesterday's pre-summit meeting Brussels-based diplomats redrafted the wording of a declaration on Brexit, with the result that the language has been strengthened to include a legal stipulation.

Advertisement

It also states that during a transition period, “all existing Union regulatory, budgetary, supervisory, judiciary and enforcement instruments and structures will apply ” - although the UK will no longer be part of EU decision-making.

“The European Council will calibrate its approach as regards trade and economic co-operation to avoid upsetting existing relations with other third countries," the document adds.

Update: Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's representative in the Brexit negotiations, has tweeted: "Remarks by David Davis that Phase one deal last week not binding were unhelpful & undermines trust. EP text will now reflect this & insist agreement translated into legal text ASAP.

He added: "After David Davis' unacceptable remarks it’s time the UK government restores trust. These amendments will further toughen up our resolution."

His tweet includes pictures of amendments, signed by himself, Manfed Weber, Gabrielle Zimmer and others, noting that Davis' statement on Sunday is a "risk to undermine the good faith built up during the negotiations" and that talks can only progress if "the UK government also fully respects the commitments it made in the joint report and they are fully translated into the draft agreement".

Yesterday, Theresa May told MPs she expected work on transition to begin "immediately", and hoped it would be agreed in the first quarter.

EU wants UK divorce deal made legally binding

Share this article:

Share this:
Related Topics:
Guest Contributor - Opinion

Opinions expressed are purely those of the author and not endorsed by EU Reporter. The article was unsolicited by EU Reporter, and the author guarantees the truthfulness of the contents of the article. No payment was made by EU Reporter to the author

EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter. Please see EU Reporter’s full Terms and Conditions of publication for more information EU Reporter embraces artificial intelligence as a tool to enhance journalistic quality, efficiency, and accessibility, while maintaining strict human editorial oversight, ethical standards, and transparency in all AI-assisted content. Please see EU Reporter’s full A.I. Policy for more information.
Advertisement

Trending