The national parliaments of EU member states may not be given a vote to approve the EU's Brexit trade deal with the UK, Brussels has indicated.

EU officials said they are "confident" that the scope of the agreement with Britain will be narrow enough that parliaments do not have to be given a vote – but said it might be decided to give them one anyway.

Under EU law, there are two types of trade agreements: "EU-only" deals and "mixed" deals. A deal is "EU-only" if it only covers policy areas that are the responsibility of the EU, while the latter cross into the prerogatives of member states.

EU-only deals only have to be approved by the EU collectively – meaning member state governments, the Commission, and European Parliament.

But the so-called "mixed deals" have to be ratified individually by member states according to their own constitutional requirements. In all cases this means the deal has to be put to their national parliament; in some states like Belgium, regions also get a say.

Mixed deals are politically much trickier to pass because different interests within member states can block them. For instance, the Belgian region of Wallonia famously held up a deal with Canada in 2016 over the lifting of agricultural tariffs and dispute resolution.

They also take a lot longer to fully implement – a crucial detail given the UK only has 11 months to get an agreement in place.

One senior EU official said: "We are confident that the mandate that we have proposed today will bring us to an agreement that can be concluded as an EU-only one.

"Of course, we will have to decide at the end of the process, and sometimes these things are not so much legal as political, whether we want to have the national parliaments ratifying.

Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Show all 37 1 /37 Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Pro-Brexit supporters celebrating in Parliament Square, after the UK left the European Union on 31 January. Ending 47 years of membership PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Big Ben, shows the hands at eleven o'clock at night AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Pro Brexit supporters attend the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage smiles on stage AFP/Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square People celebrate in Parliament Square Reuters Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square A Brexit supporter celebrates during a rally in Parliament square AP Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Police form a line at Parliament Square to prevent a small group of anti-Brexit protestors from going through to the main Brexit rally PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Nigel Farage speaks to pro-Brexit supporters PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Pro-Brexit supporters in Parliament Square, London, as the UK prepares to leave the European Union, ending 47 years of close and sometimes uncomfortable ties to Brussels. 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After 47 years in the European fold, the country leaves the EU at 11:00pm (2300 GMT) on Friday, with a handful of the most enthusiastic supporters gathering opposite the Houses of Parliament 12 hours before the final countdown. (Photo by ISABEL INFANTES / AFP) (Photo by ISABEL INFANTES/AFP via Getty Images) ISABEL INFANTES AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square People wave British Union Jack flags as they celebrate Reuters Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Pro-Brexit demonstrators celebrate on Parliament Square on Brexit day Reuters Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square A pro-Brexit supporter jumps on an EU flag PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Pro Brexit supporters gather ahead of the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave at Parliament Square on January 31, 2020 in London, England. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland exits the European Union, 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd, 2016. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Leon Neal Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit supporter wave Union flags as they wait near a statue of British war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill, for the festivities to begin in Parliament Square, the venue for the Leave Means Leave Brexit Celebration in central London on January 31, 2020, the day that the UK formally leaves the European Union. - Brexit supporters gathered outside parliament on Friday to cheer Britain's departure from the European Union following three years of epic political drama -- but for others there were only tears. After 47 years in the European fold, the country leaves the EU at 11:00pm (2300 GMT) on Friday, with a handful of the most enthusiastic supporters gathering opposite the Houses of Parliament 12 hours before the final countdown. (Photo by ISABEL INFANTES / AFP) (Photo by ISABEL INFANTES/AFP via Getty Images) ISABEL INFANTES AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit supporters gather in Parliament Square, London, as the UK prepares to leave the European Union after 47 years. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday January 31, 2020. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire Jonathan Brady PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Pro Brexit supporters gather ahead of the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave at Parliament Square on January 31, 2020 in London, England. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland exits the European Union, 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd, 2016. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Leon Neal Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square People draped in UK flags walks across Parliament Square during a rainfall in London, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. Britain officially leaves the European Union on Friday after a debilitating political period that has bitterly divided the nation since the 2016 Brexit referendum. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Kirsty Wigglesworth AP Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Pro Brexit supporters gather ahead of the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave at Parliament Square on January 31, 2020 in London, England. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland exits the European Union, 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd, 2016. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Jeff J Mitchell Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square A man waves Union flags from a small car as he drives past Brexit supporters gathering AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square A pro-Brexit supporter pours beer onto an EU flag PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Pro Brexit supporters gather ahead of the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave at Parliament Square on January 31, 2020 in London, England. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland exits the European Union, 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd, 2016. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Jeff J Mitchell Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square An EU flag lies trampled in the mud Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Pro Brexit supporters gather ahead of the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave at Parliament Square on January 31, 2020 in London, England. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland exits the European Union, 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd, 2016. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Jeff J Mitchell Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Pro-EU supporters in Parliament Square, London, ahead of the UK leaving the European Union at 11pm on Friday. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday January 31, 2020. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire Jonathan Brady PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square A pro-EU supporter in Parliament Square, London, ahead of the UK leaving the European Union at 11pm on Friday. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday January 31, 2020. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire Jonathan Brady PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Pro Brexit supporters gather ahead of the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave at Parliament Square on January 31, 2020 in London, England. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland exits the European Union, 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd, 2016. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Jeff J Mitchell Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Pro Brexit supporters gather ahead of the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave at Parliament Square on January 31, 2020 in London, England. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland exits the European Union, 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd, 2016. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Leon Neal Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Pro-Brexit supporters in Parliament Square, London, ahead of the UK leaving the European Union at 11pm on Friday. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday January 31, 2020. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire Jonathan Brady PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square An anti-Brexiteers stands with his dog in Parliament Square in central London on January 31, 2020 on the day that the UK formally leaves the European Union. - Britain on January 31 ends almost half a century of integration with its closest neighbours and leaves the European Union, starting a new -- but still uncertain -- chapter in its long history. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images) GLYN KIRK AFP via Getty

"What we are prosing is an association procedure. We think that this could be ratified on an EU-only basis, and the legal basis for this is article 217."