The European Parliament will on Wednesday lay down its “redlines” for negotiations over a Brexit deal, on which the assembly will have the final say in two years’ time.
The parliament in Strasbourg, France, is set to back a call by EU leaders for Britain to first agree to divorce terms before striking any new trade deal with the bloc, AFP reported.
MEPs are to vote on the motion a week after British Prime Minister Theresa May formally triggered the process for leaving the EU.
“We want to have a clear signal that the European Union is united,” said German MEP Manfred Weber, the head of the conservative European People’s Party, the parliament’s biggest bloc.
“London must understand that no splitting up of the EU position is possible,” Weber told reporters on Tuesday.
The guidelines to be voted on Wednesday already have the support of not only the EPP but also of the Socialists and Democrats alliance, as well as the ALDE liberals, the Greens and the leftist parliamentary group GUE. The parliament will be the first EU institution to take an official stand on the Brexit talks.
“This (vote) is the starting point of a difficult and complex negotiation to define the conditions of the United Kingdom’s departure,” Parliament President Antonio Tajani said.
The guidelines, which Weber called “redlines”, reinforce the draft guidelines unveiled last Friday by EU President Donald Tusk who represents the member states. But the 27 countries will not formally approve them until a summit on April 29.
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