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RECOMMENDATIONS
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6. Brexit
– The 27 member states and the EU institutions must maintain the unity
and cohesion around the issue of Brexit that they have displayed so far
and which are the only way to defend the interests of European citizens
and to ensure the survival of the European project. It is essential,
throughout the negotiations, to resist the appeals to narrow interests
and the “divide and rule” tactics that the UK’s negotiators will
undoubtedly seek to deploy.
– The European Parliament must be a full member of the negotiating
team, both for democratic reasons and because the Treaty means that
any agreement will require its approval.
– The 27 member states and the EU institutions must approach the
negotiations in a positive, constructive spirit, resisting the temptation
to seek to exact revenge or to sabotage the Brexit process. The member
states of the EU are interdependent and it is therefore in the interests
of everyone to reach a good agreement; were the UK to crash out of
the EU without an agreement, this would be negative for member
states and citizens, and it is therefore important to avoid such a failure.
– The negotiations should be conducted rapidly and efficiently, bearing
in mind that the withdrawal agreement needs to be finalised by May
2019. This is an absolute priority, as the EU cannot enter elections to
the European Parliament in the midst of a crisis, lacking a clear project
or clear leadership.
– After the United Kingdom has left the EU, it will be necessary to
negotiate the framework for future relations between the two parties.
– The priority in the initial withdrawal negotiations must be maintaining
the reciprocal rights of European citizens resident in the UK and of
British citizens in the EU.