Sittings · Document

DRAFT OPINION (2024/2108(INI)) 2025-05-13

On the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs · Rapporteur: Loránt Vincze

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs submits the following to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on International Trade, as the committee responsible :

Amendment 1

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 a. Welcomes the UK Government’s decision to reset its relationship with the EU and expresses its satisfaction at the fact that citizens’ safety remains pivotal under this new approach; reiterates the importance of continued full implementation of existing UK-EU agreements;

Or. en

Amendment 2

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 b. Welcomes the mutual commitment to uphold international law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as expressed by the UK Prime Minister and the President of the Commission in their joint statement of 2 October 2024 on enhancing strategic cooperation; recalls that the general conditions for the application of Part Three, as stipulated under Article 524(1) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), are indeed the long-standing respect for democracy, the rule of law and the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals,including those set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ECHR, as well as the importance of giving effect to the rights and freedoms secured in the ECHR domestically;

Or. en

Amendment 3

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 c (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 c. Welcomes the conclusion of the 2024 Commission Implementation Report that the TCA’s implementation in relation to law enforcement and judicial cooperation functioned smoothly over the past year; welcomes, in particular, the fact that, by the end of 2024, all Member States and the UK had granted each other access to their national DNA databases for automated searching, in line with Article 530 of the TCA; welcomes the fact that, by the end of 2024, the UK had made 22 fingerprint connections and was ready to finalise the remaining five;

Or. en

Amendment 4

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 d (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 d. Welcomes the fact that the UK Government has increased the presence of the UK National Crime Agency at Europol and that it is working in a broader sense towards a closer relationship with Europol, including on the ability to share data in real time; welcomes the UK’s desire to work more closely with individual Member States, including France and the Calais Group, on people smuggling and more broadly on border security;

Or. en

Amendment 5

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 e (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 e. Takes note of the 2023 Eurojust Annual Report and expresses its satisfaction as regards the UK’s participation and involvement in the Agency’s work, with the UK being the non-EU country most frequently requested to participate in new cases opened by National Desks at the Agency in 2023;

Or. en

Amendment 6

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 f (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 f. Welcomes the conclusion of a working arrangement between Frontex and the UK’s Home Office in 2024 as a first step towards closer cooperation on border management and security, based on the joint commitment to enhance safety and security, while upholding fundamental rights obligations; trusts that this arrangement will open new avenues for innovation and technical cooperation, emphasising the deployment of staff for advisory and coordination duties;

Or. en

Amendment 7

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 g (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 g. Recalls that the extradition system between the Member States and the UK, as laid down in Title VII of Part Three of the TCA, differs from the one provided for by the Council Framework Decision on European arrest warrants1a; recalls that in its recent judgment1b, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the executing judicial authority must undertake an independent examination of the risk of a breach of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which the person concerned claims to run if they are surrendered to the United Kingdom;
	_________________
	1a OJ L 190, 18.7.2002, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_framw/2002/584/oj.
	1b Judgment –of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 29 July 2024 – Alchaster, Case C-202/24, ECLI:EU:C:2024:649.

Or. en

Amendment 8

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 h (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 h. Recalls the need for strong law enforcement cooperation to tackle shared challenges in areas such as counterterrorism operations, money laundering and human smuggling and trafficking; welcomes, in this regard, the desire for closer cooperation in the areas of organised crime and illegal migration expressed by the UK Minister for the Constitution and EU Relations;

Or. en

Amendment 9

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 i (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 i. Welcomes the introduction of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill in the UK Parliament on 30 January 2025, which would create new powers to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to identify, disrupt and prevent serious and organised immigration crime through new criminal offences and expanded data-sharing capabilities; expresses its appreciation at the fact that the Bill provides for changes to the asylum application process, aiming to expedite decision-making and reduce backlogs, and for the possibility to conclude agreements with G7 countries and key European partners to counter smuggling;

Or. en

Amendment 10

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 j (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 j. Calls on the UK and the EU Member States to ensure citizens’ rights remain a key joint priority in EU-UK relations, guaranteeing that all EU and UK citizens who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement can fully enjoy their rights; notes, with satisfaction, that the EU and the UK have renewed their shared commitment to the full, timely and faithful implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in all its dimensions1a; welcomes the legislative step taken by the UK Government relating to legal clarity for EU citizens with status under the EU Settlement Scheme and trusts it will ensure a smooth transition for citizens from temporary to permanent residence over the course of the next two years; points out that the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements identified data sharing between the EU and the UK as an area that can cause delays in EU Settlement Scheme1b applications in cases where Member States possess information relevant to the application; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member State authorities to increase responsiveness to requests and ensure better information exchange between the UK and the EU and the European Economic Area European Free Trade Association countries to prevent delays and ensure a smooth application process for citizens;
	_________________
	1a Joint statement on the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, 29 April 2025, https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/bccd9296-97a3-4eb5-ae32-9492e4dacc9f_en?filename=joint_statement_on_the_withdrawal_agreement_joint_committee_meeting_29_april_2025_en.pdf.
	1b The Independent Monitoring Authority – Written Evidence (RES0030), https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/138859/pdf/.

Or. en

Amendment 11

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 k (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 k. Strongly encourages the UK to show openness towards the youth mobility agreement proposed by the Commission in 2024, involving time-limited UK-EU mobility for citizens aged between 18 and 30 years, making it easier for them to study, work and live in the UK and the EU respectively; strongly believes that an agreement on the topic of youth mobility must be an essential component of any potential future revision of the TCA;

Or. en

Amendment 12

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 l (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 l. Highlights the potential shared benefits of enhanced, reciprocal short-term business mobility arrangements; agrees with the Commission in that the UK’s sponsorship system for work visas to EU service providers is too cumbersome and onerous for both UK employers and EU beneficiaries of visas; calls on the UK to exempt service suppliers covered by the TCA from the sponsorship system;

Or. en

Amendment 13

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 36 m (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	36 m. Takes note of the UK Government’s proposed new Data (Use and Access) Bill, replacing the former Data Protection and Digital Information (No 2) Bill proposal; notes that the Commission has proposed adopting a six-month extension of the two 2021 adequacy decisions with the UK; notes that this extension would guarantee the free flow of data with the UK until 27 December 2025, which would allow time for the legislative process on the Data Bill, introduced in the UK Parliament on 23 October 2024, to conclude in the UK, and for the Commission to assess the adopted legislation and decide on its adequacy;

Or. en