Addressing the third EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly at the European Parliament, the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola praised the United Kingdom for its unwavering support for Ukraine.
Dear Chair, Dear Natalie, Dear Chair, Dear Sir Oliver, Dear Members of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, Dear friends, Dear colleagues,
Happy to be here on the second day of the third EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.
As parliamentarians from the EU and the United Kingdom, we have a responsibility to not only keep an open dialogue between our parliaments going, but also to strengthen the relationship between the EU and the UK.
The establishment of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement was an important step forward and we all know there will be many steps to come.
We know each other very well already. This allows our discussions to hit the road running in order to tackle - together as friends and as allies - the current challenges that target and pose a threat to our common values. And here, let me start by praising the United Kingdom for its unwavering support for Ukraine.
Since the beginning of Putin’s illegal attempted invasion, the UK has been one of Ukraine’s key supporters, pledging billions of pounds in aid, training soldiers and pilots, providing military, humanitarian, logistical and political assistance. We are on the same line when it comes to our relationship with Ukraine and our standpoint with regard to Russia.
Our joint action and outreach have undoubtedly united us in these times of hardship, and with this Assembly, we can and will continue on this common path.
Last March, we marked the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, which put an end to conflict in Northern Ireland. On this occasion, this European Parliament reiterated its steadfast support for the hard-earned peace process on the island of Ireland, brokered also with the tireless work of members of this House.
This year we equally welcomed a decisive Windsor Framework, which lays down arrangements for the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. It charters a new way forward in UK-EU relations. And I am pleased that the European Parliament was very swift in delivering urgent legislative files relating to the implementation of the Framework.
Now is the time for us to direct our joint efforts to further areas of common interest. Challenges to our economies, trade, financial services and energy, are but a few of the areas where we should navigate together in these times of serious geopolitical turmoil.
The best way forward is to move by respecting and fully implementing our jointly agreed framework - the Withdrawal Agreement, completed by the Windsor Framework, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Because it provides a solid base for preserving our longstanding friendship. Because it underpins our mutual endeavours of preserving democracy and fundamental rights.
This Parliamentary Partnership Assembly has a true and concrete role to play. Not only in paving the way for our cooperation, but - most importantly - in monitoring the implementation of our mutual Trade and Cooperation Agreement. This is how we can ensure that we can utilise the full potential of this framework for the UK and the EU, alike.
Dialogue matters. Our relationship matters. Discussing common EU-UK interests matters. We wish to maintain, and here is my commitment, a productive and ongoing exchange with the United Kingdom. Always.
I am the grand-daughter of Royal Navy cook - a point I make to illustrate that the ties that link us are far greater than our differences. I know that the United Kingdom will always be a crucial political and economic partner and ally for the European Union - but more than that, the EU and the UK are friends and it is that fundamental understanding that will drive our discussions forward.
Thank you.