EU and the UK
date: 31/03/2017
President Tusk proposes draft negotiating guidelines on Brexit to EU 27 leaders
On 31 March, President of the European Council Donald Tusk proposed negotiating guidelines on Brexit to the 27 EU leaders.
'Our duty is to minimise the uncertainty and disruption caused by the UK decision to withdraw from the EU for our citizens, businesses and Member States. As I have already said, in essence it is about damage control. We need to think of people first. Citizens from all over the EU live, work and study in the UK. And as long as the UK remains a member, their rights are fully protected. But we need to settle their status and situations after the withdrawal with reciprocal, enforceable and non-discriminatory guarantees', President Tusk said presenting the guidelines.
He stated that 'only once we have achieved sufficient progress on the [UK] withdrawal [from the EU], can we discuss the framework for our future relationship. Starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time, as suggested by some in the UK, will not happen. And when talking about our future relationship, we obviously share the UK's desire to establish a close partnership between us. Strong ties, reaching beyond the economy and including security cooperation, remain in our common interest.'
"There is no such thing as a 'Brexit bill' or 'penalty for leaving' We talk about just fairness and commitments. I have no doubt that from each side we want to demonstrate that we want to be fair to each other during the negotiations", President Tusk underlined.
Full remarks by President Donald Tusk on the next steps following the UK notification
Watch President Tusk's press conference here
Earlier this week the Council issued a statement in response to PM May notification letter
European Commission factsheet on the next steps in the negotiation process
What next for Britain?
On 27 March, Chatham House hosted Sir Keir Starmer, MP, Shadow Secretary for Exiting the EU, for a talk in which he outlined Labour's guiding principles and priorities for the forthcoming negotiations. He said Labour would reject the final Brexit deal if it did not pass six tests: 1) Does it ensure a strong and collaborative future relationship with the EU? 2) Does it deliver the "exact same benefits" as the UK currently has as member of the Single Market and Customs Union? 3) Does it ensure the fair management of migration in the interests of the economy and communities? 4) Does it defend rights and protections and prevent a race to the bottom? 5) Does it protect national security and the UK's capacity to tackle cross-border crime? 6) Does it deliver for all regions and nations of the UK?
He also spelled out his vision for Britain’s post-Brexit place in the world and its role on the international stage.
Watch the speech here
Commission blocks proposed merger between Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange
The European Commission prohibited the proposed merger between Deutsche Börse AG and London Stock Exchange Group under the EU merger regulation. The Commission's investigation concluded that the merger would have created a de facto monopoly in the markets for clearing fixed income instruments.
This investigation, as all competition investigations, was based on the facts and the law and is not related in any way to the negotiations about the UK leaving the EU. The UK is still a full member of the EU and subject to EU laws, including the merger regulation. In any event, under the applicable rules the Commission's assessment of the proposed merger on substance would not have been different, even if the UK would have already been outside of the EU.
Commission approves amendments to Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme
The European Commission approved amendments to the Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme as in line with EU state aid rules. The United Kingdom notified these amendments to the Commission in March 2017. They introduce a 'tiered' tariff system, whereby medium-sized biomass operators will move to a lower fixed tariff after a set number of operating hours. They also introduce an overall cap on the number of operating hours for which these beneficiaries can receive support in any given year. The Northern Irish authorities will also conduct a full review of the scheme to assess compliance in practice with the scheme rules and objectives. In the meantime, the amended scheme will remain in place until 31 March 2018. The United Kingdom initially introduced the Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive in 2012, having obtained approval by the Commission under EU state aid rules.
The non-confidential version of the decisions will be published in the state aid register on the competition website under the case number SA.47501.
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