European Commission publishes draft legal text on future EU-UK Partnership
The European Commission has published a draft legal agreement for the future EU-UK partnership.
The text lays out the negotiating directives approve by Member States in the General Affairs Council on February 25, in line with the Political Declaration that was agreed between the EU and the UK last October.
The text aims to provide a tool to support the negotiations and to enable progress with the UK.
It covers all areas of the negotiations including trade and economic cooperation, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, participation in Union programmes and other thematic areas of cooperation.
Michel Barnier, the European Commission's Chief Negotiator, said: “This text demonstrates that an ambitious and comprehensive agreement on our future relationship is possible, on the basis of the EU's mandate and the political ambition agreed with the UK five months ago.”
The UK has indicated that it will put forward texts covering elements of the future EU-UK relationship outlined in the Political Declaration.
Today's text was published after the Covid-19 crisis led to the cancellation of the negotiating round that had been scheduled to take place in London this week.
The EU and the UK are currently exploring alternative ways to continue discussions amid the crisis and options being explored include the use of video conferences.
Work on the legal texts on both sides is to continue over the coming weeks.
In keeping with the EU transparency policy, the draft legal agreement has been published online and can be read here.
