Det Europæiske Råd den 22.-23. marts 2018 - Bilag 13: Supplerende retningslinjer DER art. 50

Europaudvalget 2017-18
Det Europæiske Råd 22-23/3-18 Bilag 13
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European Council

Brussels, 23 March 2018

(OR. en)

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BXT 25

CO EUR 5

CONCL 2

NOTE

From:

To:

Subject:

General Secretariat of the Council

Delegations

European Council (Art. 50) (23 March 2018)

- Guidelines

Delegations

will find attached the guidelines adopted by the European Council (Art. 50) at the

above meeting.

Following a notification under Article 50 TEU, the member of the European Council

representing the withdrawing Member State shall not participate in the discussions of the

European Council or in decisions concerning it.

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Guidelines - 23 March 2018

The European Council welcomes the agreement reached by the negotiators on parts of the

legal text of the Withdrawal Agreement covering citizens' rights, the financial settlement, a

number of other withdrawal issues and the transition. The European Council recalls that other

issues still require agreement and negotiations can only progress as long as all commitments

undertaken so far are respected in full, and welcomes in this respect Prime Minister May's

written assurances notably regarding Ireland/Northern Ireland. The European Council calls for

intensified efforts on the remaining withdrawal issues as well as issues related to the territorial

application of the Withdrawal Agreement, notably as regards Gibraltar, and reiterates that

nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

The European Council recalls and reconfirms its guidelines of 29 April and

15 December 2017, which continue to apply in full and whose principles will have to be

respected by the future relationship with the UK. The European Council takes note of the

European Parliament resolution of 14 March 2018 on the framework of the future EU-UK

relationship.

The European Council restates the Union's determination to have as close as possible a

partnership with the UK in the future. Such a partnership should cover trade and economic

cooperation as well as other areas, in particular the fight against terrorism and international

crime, as well as security, defence and foreign policy.

At the same time, the European Council has to take into account the repeatedly stated

positions of the UK, which limit the depth of such a future partnership. Being outside the

Customs Union and the Single Market will inevitably lead to frictions in trade. Divergence in

external tariffs and internal rules as well as absence of common institutions and a shared legal

system, necessitates checks and controls to uphold the integrity of the EU Single Market as

well as of the UK market. This unfortunately will have negative economic consequences, in

particular in the United Kingdom.

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Guidelines - 23 March 2018

Against this background, the European Council sets out the following guidelines with a view

to the opening of negotiations on the overall understanding of the framework for the future

relationship, that will be elaborated in a political declaration accompanying and referred to in

the Withdrawal Agreement.

The approach outlined below reflects the level of rights and obligations compatible with the

positions stated by the UK. If these positions were to evolve, the Union will be prepared to

reconsider its offer in accordance with the principles stated in the guidelines of 29 April and

of 15 December 2017 as well as in the present guidelines.

In this context, the European Council reiterates in particular that any agreement with the

United Kingdom will have to be based on a balance of rights and obligations, and ensure a

level playing field. A non-member of the Union, that does not live up to the same obligations

as a member, cannot have the same rights and enjoy the same benefits as a member.

The European Council recalls that the four freedoms are indivisible and that there can be no

“cherry picking” through participation in the Single Market based on a sector-by-sector

approach, which would undermine the integrity and proper functioning of the Single Market.

The European Council further reiterates that the Union will preserve its autonomy as regards

its decision-making, which excludes participation of the United Kingdom as a third-country in

the Union Institutions and participation in the decision-making of the Union bodies, offices

and agencies. The role of the Court of Justice of the European Union will also be fully

respected.

As regards the core of the economic relationship, the European Council confirms its readiness

to initiate work towards a balanced, ambitious and wide-ranging free trade agreement (FTA)

insofar as there are sufficient guarantees for a level playing field. This agreement will be

finalised and concluded once the UK is no longer a Member State. Such an agreement cannot

however offer the same benefits as Membership and cannot amount to participation in the

Single Market or parts thereof. This agreement would address:

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Det Europæiske Råd den 22.-23. marts 2018 - Bilag 13: Supplerende retningslinjer DER art. 50

Guidelines - 23 March 2018

trade in goods, with the aim of covering all sectors and seeking to maintain zero tariffs

and no quantitative restrictions with appropriate accompanying rules of origin.

In the overall context of the FTA, existing reciprocal access to fishing waters and

resources should be maintained;

ii)

appropriate customs cooperation, preserving the regulatory and jurisdictional autonomy

of the parties and the integrity of the EU Customs Union;

iii)

disciplines on technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)

measures;

iv)

a framework for voluntary regulatory cooperation;

trade in services, with the aim of allowing market access to provide services under host

state rules, including as regards right of establishment for providers, to an extent

consistent with the fact that the UK will become a third country and the Union and the

UK will no longer share a common regulatory, supervisory, enforcement and judiciary

framework;

vi)

access to public procurement markets, investments and protection of intellectual

property rights, including geographical indications, and other areas of interest to the

Union.

The future partnership should address global challenges, in particular in the areas of climate

change and sustainable development, as well as cross-border pollution, where the Union and

the UK should continue close cooperation.

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Guidelines - 23 March 2018

10.

The future partnership should include ambitious provisions on movement of natural persons,

based on full reciprocity and non-discrimination among Member States, and related areas

such as coordination of social security and recognition of professional qualifications. In this

context, options for judicial cooperation in matrimonial, parental responsibility and other

related matters could be explored, taking into account that the UK will be a third country

outside Schengen and that such cooperation would require strong safeguards to ensure full

respect of fundamental rights.

11.

In terms of socio-economic cooperation, the following could be envisaged:

regarding transport services, the aim should be to ensure continued connectivity

between the UK and the EU after the UK withdrawal. This could be achieved,

inter alia,

through an air transport agreement, combined with aviation safety and security

agreements, as well as agreements on other modes of transport, while ensuring a strong

level playing field in highly competitive sectors;

ii)

regarding certain Union programmes, e.g. in the fields of research and innovation and of

education and culture, any participation of the UK should be subject to the relevant

conditions for the participation of third countries to be established in the corresponding

programmes.

12.

Given the UK's geographic proximity and economic interdependence with the EU27, the

future relationship will only deliver in a mutually satisfactory way if it includes robust

guarantees which ensure a level playing field. The aim should be to prevent unfair

competitive advantage that the UK could enjoy through undercutting of levels of protection

with respect to,

inter alia,

competition and state aid, tax, social, environment and regulatory

measures and practices. This will require a combination of substantive rules aligned with EU

and international standards, adequate mechanisms to ensure effective implementation

domestically, enforcement and dispute settlement mechanisms in the agreement as well as

Union autonomous remedies, that are all commensurate with the depth and breadth of the EU-

UK economic connectedness.

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Guidelines - 23 March 2018

Any future framework should safeguard financial stability in the Union and respect its

regulatory and supervisory regime and standards and their application.

13.

In other areas than trade and economic cooperation, where the Union has already signalled its

readiness to establish specific partnerships, the European Council considers that:

law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters should constitute an

important element of the future EU-UK relationship in the light of the geographic

proximity and shared threats faced by the Union and the UK, taking into account that

the UK will be a third country outside Schengen. The future partnership should cover

effective exchanges of information, support for operational cooperation between law

enforcement authorities and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Strong safeguards

will need to be established that ensure full respect of fundamental rights and effective

enforcement and dispute settlement mechanisms;

ii)

in view of our shared values and common challenges, there should be a strong EU-UK

cooperation in the fields of foreign, security and defence policy. A future partnership

should respect the autonomy of the Union's decision-making, taking into account that

the UK will be a third country, and foresee appropriate dialogue, consultation,

coordination, exchange of information, and cooperation mechanisms. As a pre-requisite

for the exchange of information in the framework of such cooperation a Security of

Information Agreement would have to be put in place.

14.

In the light of the importance of data flows in several components of the future relationship, it

should include rules on data. As regards personal data, protection should be governed by

Union rules on adequacy with a view to ensuring a level of protection essentially equivalent to

that of the Union.

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Guidelines - 23 March 2018

15.

The governance of our future relationship with the UK will have to address management and

supervision, dispute settlement and enforcement, including sanctions and cross-retaliation

mechanisms. Designing the overall governance of the future relationship will require to take

into account:

ii)

iii)

the content and depth of the future relationship;

the necessity to ensure effectiveness and legal certainty;

the requirements of the autonomy of the EU legal order, including the role of the Court

of Justice of the European Union, notably as developed in the jurisprudence.

16.

The European Council, with the support of the Council, will continue to follow the

negotiations closely, in all their aspects, and will return in particular to the remaining

withdrawal issues and to the framework for the future relationship at its June meeting. In the

meantime, the European Council calls upon the Commission, the High Representative of the

Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Member States to continue the work on

preparedness at all levels for the consequences of the UK withdrawal, taking into account all

possible outcomes.

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