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The path to the painstakingly negotiated Brexit trade pact is clear, the deal may enter into force by the end of the year as planned, but only for now because final approval from the EU Parliament is still pending.
Britain’s House of Commons voted on Wednesday for the Brexit deal between the UK and the EU. MPs in the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly (521 to 73 votes) in favor of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ratification bill.
EU leaders had already signed the Brexit trade pact a few hours earlier. After the head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the EU Council, Charles Michel, signed the document, it was flown to London on a British Air Force plane and presented to the Prime Minister. Johnson.
The nearly 1,250-page trade and association agreement regulates economic relations after the end of the transition phase as of January 1, 2021. This avoids tariffs and keeps friction losses in trade as low as possible. It also regulates many other issues, including fisheries and cooperation on energy, transport, justice and police.
Being the EU’s “best friend”
Johnson said in the House of Commons debate that his country will continue to be “a friendly neighbor, best friend and ally” of the EU. London and Brussels “would work hand in hand as long as our values and interests coincide.” The opposition leader of the Labor Party, Keir Starmer, described the agreement as “thin” and “flawed”. However, it is better than a no-deal, which would result in price increases and push companies to the limit of existence.
In particular, Scotland received strong criticism: Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon criticized in front of the Edinburgh regional parliament against the “lazy Brexit that Scotland has rejected from the start”. British Minister of State Michael Gove accused Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party (SNP) of putting its “narrow-minded” nationalism before the national good of the country.
The head of the port of Calais is calm about the end of the transition phase of Brexit at the beginning of the year. “We are ready,” Jean-Marc Puissesseau said yesterday with a view to the movement of goods on the important ferry connection across the English Channel between Dover and the French city of Calais.
It is important for companies to make their customs declarations. Then there are no delays, the traffic runs almost as usual. Anyone who does not complete the declaration will be directed to a special parking lot; there will be additional controls.
Meanwhile, Spain and Britain are negotiating a Brexit deal for Gibraltar under enormous time pressure. The British Overseas Territory is not part of the Brexit trade pact; Madrid and London are negotiating this bilaterally, so far to no avail.
>>> Editorial on the subject [OÖNplus]
