Brussels, Dec. 21, (dpa/GNA) – It is now too late for the European Parliament to properly scrutinize and ratify any deal the EU and Britain can thrash out before the end of the year, a leading EU lawmaker warned.
“Unfortunately there is still no clarity on whether the two sides can reach an agreement,” David McAllister, who heads the legislature’s UK coordination group, told dpa, after the lapse of a Sunday deadline.
Talks will continue Monday, breaking a deadline set the European Parliament: The deal could only have been officially confirmed in a shortened procedure if it had been ready by midnight on Sunday.
Therefore, there can be no formal approval process by EU lawmakers, McAllister said, adding that he would call a committee meeting for Monday.
Bernd Lange, another member of the legislature from the trade committee, said they will have to think “very objectively about how to deal with the situation.”
There are now three conceivable variants, which from McAllister’s point of view would be legally difficult: If an agreement is still reached, it could be applied provisionally; the deadline for negotiation and ratification could be extended; or a technical timeout – a “stopping of the clock” – could be called around the end of the year.
GNA