Strasbourg, 16 January 2019 By Frans Timmermans & Michel Barnier First Vice-President Frans Timmermans Thank you very much, Mr President. The vote last night in the House of Commons was crystal clear. The Withdrawal Agreement has been rejected. And now we will have to look for a way forward. The Commission regrets the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement, as the representative of the Council said, because we do believe this was the best possible outcome. In a situation where two parties were negotiating, looking after their...

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Chair, At the last Trade Policy Review of the United States two years ago, a month before President Trump was sworn into office, I ended the EU statement with the hope that the protectionist rhetoric would end once the President-elect had taken office. Today, unfortunately, rhetoric has turned into reality and the repercussions of tariffs and other restrictions are being felt at the heart of this organisation, and more generally in global growth prospects. The US has shaped the global...

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The United Kingdom will leave the European Union in 100 days' time. Given the continued uncertainty in the UK surrounding the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, as agreed between the EU and the UK on 25 November 2018 – and last week's call by the European Council (Article 50) to intensify preparedness work at all levels and for all outcomes – the European Commission has today started implementing its “no deal” Contingency Action Plan. This delivers on the Commission's commitment to adopt...

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Remarks by President Donald Tusk after the European Council meeting on 14 December 2018 Main results The European Council on 13-14 December 2018 focused on the EU's long-term budget, external relations, migration and the single market. EU27 leaders also discussed Brexit on Thursday and the euro area on Friday. European Council conclusions, 13-14/12/2018 European Council (Art. 50) conclusions, 13/12/2018 Remarks by President Donald Tusk after the European Council and Eurosummit meetings, 14/12/2018 At the start of the meeting, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, representing the...

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