“We welcome the agreement reached between the British government and EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier. This is an important and necessary step in the process which will result in the UK leaving the European Union in an orderly manner”, said Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group in the Parliament, on Thursday.
“Since UK voters decided democratically to leave the European Union, the EPP Group has always emphasised the importance of guaranteeing citizens’ rights on both sides of the Channel, of finding a settlement on the UK’s financial commitments to the EU and avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Further analysis of the agreement will be needed in the days to come. We welcome the positive recommendations of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. They indicate that our negotiators were successful in safeguarding our red lines. I would like to thank Michel Barnier for the extraordinary work that he and his team have been doing”, said Weber.
“At this stage, the ball is still in the UK’s court. I want to make clear that the European Parliament is the last to approve the deal. The EPP Group will now examine the text of the agreement carefully. As the agreement is de facto delaying the real entry into effect of Brexit, we need to have a clear picture about how future relations between the EU and the UK will look before we vote. Our vote should not be taken for granted”, Weber concluded.
