Out now: as the first round of UK-EU negotiations ends, the EU Committee publishes its analysis and comparison of the UK and EU negotiating positions. (1/7) publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5801/ldse…
This is the first report to be made under section 29 of the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020, which empowers the Committee to report on EU legislation that raises “matters of vital national interest to the United Kingdom”. (2/7)
A section 29 report must be debated by the House of Lords within 14 sitting days – in this case, by 24 March. (3/7)
The report focuses on the Council Decision setting out the EU’s negotiating guidelines for the new partnership with the UK and compares it to the UK Government’s published statements, and also the October 2019 Political Declaration. (4/7)
The Committee notes that the European Parliament has considered the EU negotiating position in detail, and regrets that the UK Parliament has not been given the same opportunity. (5/7) 
On the ‘level playing field’, the Committee suggests that agreement may be possible in most areas, but that State aid remains a sticking point. (6/7)
As negotiations start, the Committee also underlines the scale of the challenge ahead. (7/7)
