In an opinion issued yesterday (21 December), EU Advocate-General Eleanor Sharpston said that certain parts of the planned deal with Singapore do not fall under the EU’s exclusive competence to negotiate trade and will have to be ratified by national parliaments, a process that has already threatened to derail a similar agreement with Canada.
Although Sharpston’s opinion is not binding, European Court of Justice judges rarely go against the advice of their advocate-general and they will issue a full ruling that is expected early next year.
In a statement, the ECJ said that the British lawyer “considers that the EUSFTA [European Union Singapore Free Trade Agreement] can only be concluded by the EU and member states acting jointly.”
The case was first brought by the European Commission, which sought to put to bed any doubts that it alone has full responsibility for brokering the bloc’s trade agreements when the deal does not include any factors over which member states share or hold exclusive dominion. [...]
Lessons for Brexit?
The UK government could be sweating as a result of Sharpston’s ruling, given its plans to strike a trade deal with the EU once it has left the bloc, following its June decision to leave. Theresa May and her Brexit team have spoken regularly about wanting a comprehensive deal for the UK once it is out. If the ECJ decides to uphold the opinion, then it could face a long wait.
That is assuming the agreement is eventually passed by whatever parliaments vote on a proposed deal. The UK could find itself in a situation where it waits years for a deal to be hammered out, only to see an entity like the Wallonian parliament scupper it at the eleventh hour.
Full article on EurActiv
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