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On Christmas Eve there was still an agreement for the post-Brexit period from the turn of the year. Prime Minister Johnson assures that the British will remain close allies of the EU. The British Parliament must vote on December 30, the EU Parliament not until the new year.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tie was a subtle hint of what EU and UK negotiators had recently been discussing. Fishing rights. But a week before the end of the transition period, the EU and the UK agreed on the basis of their future relationship after Brexit. “The deal is here,” Downing Street said Thursday afternoon after similar signals were heard in EU circles. After months of discussions, the negotiating teams concluded their talks on a joint trade agreement. Thus, a strong economic break with Great Britain will probably be avoided early in the year. As there is no longer enough time for the EU to ratify the agreement, the provisions can initially only be applied temporarily. However, this requires the approval of all 27 EU countries.
After Britain leaves the EU internal market at the end of the year, the agreement provides for trade without tariffs and without quantitative restrictions. The president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, praised the agreement as “fair” and “balanced”. British Prime Minister Johnson spoke of a “good deal”. There were positive reactions from many EU countries. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) welcomed the agreement, but stressed that it will now be examined carefully.
On Friday, the EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, briefed the ambassadors of the 27 EU states on the results of the negotiations. The briefing of the French has started, wrote a spokesman for the German presidency of the EU Council on Twitter on Friday. EU member states would now examine the 1246 pages of the agreement and “will continue this daunting task in the coming days.”
Until the end, they fought for fishing rights
The negotiators also agreed on the central issue of fishing. The agreement provides for a transition period of five and a half years for the reduction of fishing quotas for EU fishers. According to EU representatives, a 25 percent reduction in catches was agreed with Great Britain during this period. Starting in June 2026, catch quotas should be renegotiated annually.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has assured EU fishermen that they will support Brussels. “The EU will stand by the European fishermen and accompany them, we are committed to this,” Barnier said on Thursday. The agreement allows mutual access to the fishing grounds, with new catch quotas and a new division of fishing zones. “This deal takes effort, I know that,” Barnier said.
Despite its low economic weight, the sector is of great political and social importance for Member States such as France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland. On the other hand, for many Britons, control over their own waters has become a symbol of sovereignty regained through Brexit. Fishermen in the EU catch marine animals worth around € 650 million annually in UK waters.
Von der Leyen said the deal could be “a solid foundation” for future relations with the UK. It ensures fair competitive conditions for companies on both sides and also provides for cooperation in areas such as climate policy, energy and transport.
The British Parliament is due to stand on December 30. vote
Johnson assured that his country will continue to be a friend, ally and “most important market” of the EU countries. Britain remains a “reliable partner,” von der Leyen said. At the same time, he urged EU citizens to look to the future four and a half years after the Brexit referendum. “It is time to leave Brexit behind,” he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the agreement was “of historical importance”. The German federal government will now intensively examine the text of the agreement. It will soon be clear “whether Germany can support the outcome of today’s negotiation. I am very confident that we have a good outcome here,” Merkel said.
Britain left the EU on February 1, but the country will remain in the EU internal market and in the customs union until the end of the year. After the agreement at the negotiation level, the governments of the 27 EU member states must also agree to the result from the EU side.
The German EU presidency scheduled a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels on Friday morning to start this process. EU negotiator Michel Barnier will provide details of the complex deal. The approval process in the Member States should take several days.
In Britain, parliament must also approve the deal. To do this, the deputies must meet on December 30. The opposition Labor Party signaled its approval on Thursday.
The EU Parliament will not vote until 2021
However, according to its president David Sassoli, the EU Parliament wants to wait until early next year to make a decision. Due to the “duration of the negotiations” and the agreement reached “shortly before”, an exact examination of the contract by the parliamentarians is not possible until the end of the year, Sassoli explained.
Therefore, the EU Commission wants to propose that the agreement be applied provisionally by the end of February. Then it could be ratified by the EU Parliament in early 2021.
So on
EU countries are presented with the text
The EU Commission is now sending the text of the agreement to member states. The German EU Presidency has called an extraordinary meeting of the EU ambassadors for Friday morning (10.30am). The EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, will brief the representatives of the member states on the outcome of the negotiations.
Examination in Member States
The Christmas holidays are likely to be canceled for many business and legal experts in the capitals of the EU member states. Now you have to examine the text of the hundreds of pages of agreement in no time. Then each government must decide whether it agrees with the outcome of the negotiations. In many cases, a cabinet decision is sufficient. In countries with a minority government, however, discussions with the opposition or parliamentary involvement may also be necessary.
Another meeting of the EU ambassadors
When all countries are ready, the EU ambassadors will meet again in Brussels, most likely early next week. It could then initiate a written procedure whereby the EU countries jointly formally declare their consent to the trade agreement.
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The agreement is then signed by the EU and it is published in the Official Journal of the EU.
Provisional application
The EU Commission wants to propose a provisional application of the trade agreement by the end of February. Because there is no longer enough time until the end of the year for regular ratification by the European Parliament. It should take place retrospectively in early 2021. Only Member States would have to accept provisional application, not Parliament. However, the EU Commission is likely to consult parliamentarians.
Reactions
The German federal government also wants to achieve a provisional entry into force. “As Presidency of the Council, we want to do everything possible to ensure that the agreement can enter into force provisionally on January 1, 2021,” said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
French head of state Emmanuel Macron said “unity and strength” in the EU have paid off. Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin spoke of a “good compromise”.
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) welcomed the agreement via Twitter. “We will now look closely at the agreement. I would like to particularly thank @vonderleyen and @MichelBarnier for their tireless efforts,” it read there. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) also thanked Barnier, tweeting: “I welcome the successful conclusion of negotiations on future EU-UK relations. The agreement will form the basis for a future strong partnership and sustainable”.
European Minister Karoline Edtstadler (also ÖVP) immediately announced in a broadcast: “I welcome the successful conclusion of negotiations on future relations between the EU and the UK. The agreement is a solid basis for a strong partnership in the future”.
Economy Minister Margarete Schramböck (ÖVP) said: “I am glad that an agreement was reached between the European Union and Great Britain at the last minute. This prevented further damage to our economy. Well-functioning trade relations need partnerships that work well on an equal footing.
SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner told the APA: “Of course, there is mainly relief with the deal. The worst of all options would have been a tough Brexit. A no-deal would have caused a lot of damage, for the population and the economy”. The EU and the UK. It is good that the British prime minister put an end to his populism and made concessions at the end of the negotiations. However, the process must be viewed critically in terms of democracy. Here, at the last minute, a 2,000-page trade agreement goes through the institutions. The Social Democracy will be very careful with the social and environmental consequences of this agreement. “
ÖVP MEP Othmar Karas wrote on Twitter: “@vonderleyen and @MichelBarnier were able to prevent #NoDealBrexit. The trade deal, which must be carefully scrutinized before the vote in the EU Parliament, cannot heal all wounds caused by the #Brexit leaves. “
SPÖ-UE delegation leader Andreas Schieder let it be known: “In the end, common sense prevailed. This last minute deal on a post-Brexit trade deal prevents a GAU, from which we got a preview of the truck convoy. of the last days “The chaos of the last days and the agreement too late” are the sole fault of Johnson. “He has stayed on his irresponsible course to the end.”
Monika Vana, Head of Delegation of the Austrian Greens in the European Parliament, said: “Brexit has no winners. That the EU has not allowed itself to divide in the long negotiations with Great Britain is the only positive conclusion of these Brexit negotiations. . (…) Supporting workers and regions affected by Brexit with EU funds is an expression of European solidarity. “
Mariana Kühnel, Undersecretary General of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ), considered the agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom, which had been agreed after long and hard negotiations, as “a message that will bring relief to the Austrian economy” .
This ensures that after the end of the transition phase on December 31, 2020, during which the British are bound by EU rules despite Brexit, there will be reasonably orderly relations rather than chaos in economic relations between the EU countries and Great Britain. “At least there is clarity and certainty in planning. Companies know where they are,” says Kühnel.
(APA / dpa / Reuters)
