EU Parliament approves key stances to be taken by negotiator Barnier in talks with Britain

European Union lawmakers threw their weight on Wednesday behind the negotiating package that the 27-nation bloc’s chief negotiator plans to use during upcoming trade talks with former EU member Britain.

The European Parliament adopted a text embracing the key positions of negotiator Michel Barnier with a 543-39 vote that included 69 abstentions.

The remaining EU member nations are still going over Barnier’s proposals for a post-Brexit trade relationship with the UK. However, they are expected to back them when European affairs ministers meet in Brussels on February 25.

Right up to Britain’s January 31 exit from the EU, the remaining member nations closely aligned their views during the drawn out withdrawal negotiations. The challenge now is to keep them united during the post-Brexit trade negotiations, which are to last through the rest of the year, AP said.