“We agreed to go on and have the [vote] on 24 February in the committee and probably we will have to vote in the plenary on 11 March … We have a whole package of really good amendments and this will be finalized next Tuesday,” he told POLITICO.
With the EU still processing the shock of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats against the territorial sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark, the liberal Renew group, the Socialists and Democrats and the Greens are pushing to armor-plate the deal by inserting suspension clauses into enabling legislation in case the U.S. president turns hostile again.
These would also foresee a reference to the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument — its most powerful trade defense tool — something the center-right European People’s Party strongly opposes.
“To move forward we need a ‘Trump-proofed’ agreement. If the U.S. threatens new tariffs, introduces new tariffs, or threatens the EU’s security interests, the agreement will be suspended,” said Renew’s lead negotiator Karin Karlsbro.
The EPP, the largest group in the Parliament, has pushed to sign off on the deal following calls from EU leaders to unfreeze its implementation.
“I am disappointed we didn’t reach a deal today,” said Željana Zovko, the EPP lead lawmaker on the file.