For the first time in recent memory, many on both sides of the Atlantic have understood what the European Parliament is truly for.
The debate surrounding the so-called Turnberry agreement between the European Union and the U.S. has revealed an undeniable fact: when political pressure intensifies, threats multiply and the temptation grows to replace rules with improvised deals, Parliament remains the institution best placed to defend the integrity of the European project and its principles.
Throughout the negotiations, it acted not as an obstacle to transatlantic dialogue, but as a guarantor that Europe's democratic procedures, institutional balance and rule-of-law standards would be respected.
At several points during the talks — including after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Greenland's territorial integrity and trade relations with Spain — Parliament suspended its legislative work rather than allow pressure for a rapid agreement to override the need for safeguards, accountability and democratic scrutiny.
The transatlantic relationship remains the world's largest economic partnership, accounting for nearly €1.6 trillion in trade in goods and services in 2024 and supporting millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
Precisely because of its strategic importance, this relationship must be governed by stability and predictability, essential conditions for investment, industrial competitiveness and social cohesion.
This article is part of the The Parliament's special policy report "The EU's trade question."
A democratic safeguard
Parliament understood this responsibility from the outset. Under the leadership of its chief negotiator Bernd Lange, chair of Parliament’s International Trade Committee, MEPs insisted — albeit with varying degrees of intensity across the political spectrum — that any agreement with the U.S. respect clear legal and institutional boundaries.
Europe could not legitimize a model of commercial relations based on arbitrary pressure or transactional bargaining detached from established international and domestic legal frameworks.
Even in the U.S., key judicial rulings — including Supreme Court decisions limiting the scope of arbitrary executive trade powers — have exposed the contradictions between aggressive unilateral trade practices and the constitutional principles on which democratic governance rests.
The safeguards secured during the negotiations ultimately provided meaningful guarantees for Europe's sovereignty and credibility.
Parliament obtained a clear expiry date for the agreement, with all EU concessions automatically ending on December 31, 2029. It had pushed for a shorter deadline, but this was the outcome of a difficult confrontation with the other institutions.
A suspension mechanism and standstill clause were also introduced, ensuring that Parliament can suspend the regulation in the event of a breach of the agreement.
Additional protections were also secured for steel and aluminum derivative products, including a clear deadline for the U.S. to reduce tariffs on EU imports to the agreed 15% by the end of 2026, alongside safeguard clauses designed to shield European industries from harmful import surges.
Parliament also pushed for stronger transparency and oversight requirements.
The European Commission will now be required to provide regular public reporting on compliance, trade flows and implementation, while MEPs secured a stronger parliamentary role in monitoring the agreement. For instance, Parliament will be allowed to submit information that could trigger the suspension mechanism.
Finally, the anti-coercion instrument — the "bazooka" — remains a key tool in the EU's toolbox, as the regulation makes clear.
Parliament's growing role
These safeguards were not granted automatically — pressure to preserve the negotiated outcome of the Turnberry deal was intense — but resulted from difficult negotiations.
One conclusion is now clearer than ever: Parliament has become a central pillar of European decision-making on the EU's external economic relations. That may prove to be one of the lasting political lessons of the Turnberry negotiations.
The final judgment on the agreement nevertheless remains negative, and MEPs must remain vigilant to ensure the EU's long-term interests are protected.
The Turnberry arrangement reflects an unstable political environment and still falls short of providing the certainty European businesses and workers deserve.
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