Tuesday

28th Mar 2023

Agenda

It's the big Brexit vote This WEEK

  • Prime minister Theresa May will have a mountain to climb to to overturn the 230-vote majority by which she lost the last vote on her Brexit deal (Photo: UK Parliament/flickr)

Brexit again will be in the spotlight in the EU and across the United Kingdom, as British MPs will hold their crunch vote on the withdrawal deal - for the second time - on Tuesday (12 March).

With talks currently at an impasse between EU and UK negotiators, it is still in doubt if British prime minister Theresa May will get the assurances over the backstop on the island of Ireland that she thinks necessary to get the majority in parliament for the deal.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The 'backstop' is a mechanism to keep the UK in the EU customs union, avoiding a hard border between the EU Republic of Ireland and the UK Northern Ireland, whilst future trade talks take place.

May on Friday (8 March) called on the EU to make its own proposals to break the deadlock and avoid a no-deal Brexit on March 29 that could leave businesses and citizens in limbo.

The British PM could possibly turn up in Brussels on Monday (11 March) for last-minute talks.

UK lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected the deal the first time in January, by a historic 230 votes.

If MPs accept the deal now, London will most likely ask for a short extension of Brexit, due on 29 March, in order to pass necessary legislation that needs to be in place for the UK's departure.

If MPs reject the deal, which seems likely, they will then get to vote on Wednesday (13 March) on whether to rule out a no-deal scenario.

If no deal is taken off the table, the next step is likely to be a longer extension to the Article 50 withdrawal procedure.

The EU-27 need to unanimously agree to extend Brexit, but there is little appetite for a long extension without a significant change in the UK's approach, as EU officials do not want to same discussions to continue endlessly that have dominated Brexit talks over the past months without results.

The European elections in May complicate things further, as a longer extension could see the departing UK obliged to elect fresh MEPs - which is an unpopular idea on either side of the channel.

MEPs will also discuss the latest Brexit drama at the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday (13 March).

European lawmakers will also vote on travel, air and road transport, Erasmus, social security and fisheries measures, all to ease the effects of a withdrawal of the UK from the EU without an agreement.

Plenary menu

MEPs will also vote on to introduce financial penalties for pan-European political parties and foundations that deliberately breach data protection rules, in order to protect European democracies from foreign actors spreading misinformation or misusing personal data.

MEPs will vote on Tuesday on a new EU information system and on the upgrade of another system that will ensure information on border control and law enforcement is more efficiently shared.

Deputies will also discuss on Tuesday the latest Turkey report, which recommends suspending accession talks. Lawmakers will vote on the report on Wednesday.

The parliament will vote on Thursday on the confirmation of positions in three banking supervisory bodies: the European Banking Authority chief, the Single Resolution Board, and a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank.

The parliament has protested to the council's member states that the candidates are all male.

On the proposals for rules to better protect whistleblowers, negotiations between the EU institutions will take place on Monday evening to find a compromise.

And on Friday (15 March) the lead candidates running to clinch the EU commission top position after the May European elections will hold a debate in the parliament.

The Slovak prime minister Peter Pellegrini on Tuesday will lay out his ideas about the future of Europe to MEPs.

Brussels topics

Back in Brussels, on Monday the finance ministers of the eurozone will review the second enhanced surveillance report on Greece, after the bailout program ended last August.

The third conference on Syria and the region will take place between 12-14 March.

The conference's aim is to mobilise international support for the Syrian people and work on a lasting political solution after nine years of war.

Climate efforts

On Wednesday, MEPs will discuss climate change, in response to recent protests by young EU citizens such as the 16-year-old Swedish high-school student Greta Thunberg.

The debate was pushed for by centre-left, left-wing and Green MEPs.

According to spokespersons from those groups, the centre-right and right-wing groups rejected the idea of inviting Thunberg to speak in the plenary.

Greens spokeswoman Ruth Reichstein said Friday (8 March) there was no majority for giving the young activist a platform, with those opposed "basically saying that it would be better than they go to school" than address MEPs.

The debate will be followed by a non-binding resolution, to be put to a vote on Thursday.

Last month, EU countries acknowledged that climate change "is a direct and existential threat, which will spare no country".

EU and UK in Brexit brinksmanship

British prime minister Theresa May is to urge the EU to back down on Ireland in a speech to eurosceptic British workers 21 days before the Brexit due date.

EU summit zooms in on global roles This WEEK

Competitiveness is expected be on the top of the agenda of EU leaders after the EU Commission last week rolled out a series of proposals to boost the bloc's capacity in green tech.

Green acts and data flow in focus This WEEK

Economic ministers set to talk about the reform of the economic governance and even agree on conclusions. The EU Commission is also expected to come with several proposals on supporting the greening of the economy.

Column

What does China really want? Perhaps we could try asking

Perhaps even more surprising to the West was the fact that the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal was not brokered by the United States, or the European Union, but by the People's Republic of China. Since when was China mediating peace agreements?

Opinion

Dear EU, the science is clear: burning wood for energy is bad

The EU and the bioenergy industry claim trees cut for energy will regrow, eventually removing extra CO2 from the atmosphere. But regrowth is not certain, and takes time, decades or longer. In the meantime, burning wood makes climate change worse.

Latest News

  1. New measures to shield the EU against money laundering
  2. What does China really want? Perhaps we could try asking
  3. Dear EU, the science is clear: burning wood for energy is bad
  4. Biden's 'democracy summit' poses questions for EU identity
  5. Finnish elections and Hungary's Nato vote in focus This WEEK
  6. EU's new critical raw materials act could be a recipe for conflict
  7. Okay, alright, AI might be useful after all
  8. Von der Leyen pledges to help return Ukrainian children

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  6. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting
  2. EFBWWEU Social Dialogue review – publication of the European Commission package and joint statement of ETUFs
  3. Oxfam InternationalPan Africa Program Progress Report 2022 - Post Covid and Beyond
  4. WWFWWF Living Planet Report
  5. Europan Patent OfficeHydrogen patents for a clean energy future: A global trend analysis of innovation along hydrogen value chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us