The European Parliament's conference of presidents, or group leaders, will give their response to the expected and much awaited notification by the UK government today that it intends to leave the EU.
Parliament’s president Antonio Tajani, political group leaders, Guy Verhofstadt, its negotiator for the talks with the UK, and constitutional affairs committee chair Danuta Hübner, will discuss the consequences of the UK government’s triggering of Article 50 at a specially convened meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.
UK prime minister Theresa May will, through the UK’s EU ambassador Tim Barrow, formally notify European council President Donald Tusk of her country’s intention to withdraw from the EU.
In a speech in Scotland ahead of the handing over the Article 50 letter of notification today, May stressed that Brexit will not mean “that Britain steps back from the world,” but instead, “We are going to take this opportunity to forge a more global Britain.
“That will lead us towards a new partnership with Europe,” and a Britain “that looks beyond Europe to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike.”
Meanwhile, former British Liberal MEP Andrew Duff has appealed for the Brexit talks to take place in “a legal, orderly and democratic way” and that the way is prepared for a “new form of durable association.”
Duff, a renowned constitutional expert, recommends the setting-up of a special Joint Transition Authority which he calls a “unique body, answerable to both parties”, in order to oversee over a longer period the full completion of the Brexit process and the preparation of the next phase of Britain’s European partnership.
Duff said, “Brexit will happen and negotiations will be challenging. But that does not mean both sides should make the parting more difficult than it already is.”
Elsewhere, UKIP and the Labour party have each set out six ‘tests’ they will use to evaluate May’s negotiation with the EU.
Labour’s tests include judging whether May’s deal ensures “a strong and collaborative future relationship” between the UK and the EU; delivers the “exact same benefits” of the UK’s existing membership of the single market and customs union; allows the “fair management of migration in the interests of the economy and communities;” defends rights and protections; preserves “national security and our capacity to tackle cross-border crime,” and delivers for “all regions and nations of the UK.
For UKIP, the tests demand the repatriation of law making and judicial powers; an end to free movement; regaining maritime sovereignty over fishing waters; retaking the UK’s World Trade Organisation seat and the power to strike trade deals; rejection of any exit bill and the return of assets such as the UK’s share of the European Investment Bank; and for the process of leaving the EU to be complete before the end of 2019 without “loose ends… or an open-ended transition.”