Exiting or Entering the Union: EU Consistency in Accession and Withdrawal Negotiations. College of Europe Policy Brief #14.17, December 2017

Terzi, Özlem (2017) Exiting or Entering the Union: EU Consistency in Accession and Withdrawal Negotiations. College of Europe Policy Brief #14.17, December 2017. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

Executive Summary The accession process and Brexit largely deal with the same issues. A comparison allows for assessing EU consistency across the two cases: > First, the EU’s decision to act in unity for the rights of EU residents in the UK is a display of solidarity, and should be acknowledged as such. > Second, if the four freedoms of the single market are seen as indivisible in Brexit negotiations, this should also be the case in accession talks. > Third, a solution to the border regulation in Northern Ireland may be inspired by the Annan Plan for the reunification of Cyprus. This would mean applying some parts of EU law to Northern Ireland. > Fourth, regarding the governance of the withdrawal agreement, inspiration can be taken from the association agreements. The Court of Justice of the EU and the Commission could have a stronger role for dispute settlement in the fields of residents’ rights and EU law. Conversely, a Joint Committee with the right of deferral to arbitration or to another dispute settlement mechanism could deal with other issues in the withdrawal agreement. > Finally, while the accession process can take as long as needed for the candidate country to adopt all EU rules, the exit process has a fixed deadline. This should be handled responsibly.

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