A UK government source and a European diplomatic source told CNN that a deal was announced on Christmas Eve. News of a possible deal also came through the UK’s PA Media News Agency.
The announcement comes ahead of a December 31 deal deadline.
A senior source at No. 10 Downing Street told CNN that the UK cabinet was briefed on the talks in a late-night call on Wednesday. After that briefing, the source told CNN: “Negotiations on the legal text are expected to begin as soon as possible.”
European Commission chief spokesman Eric Memer then hinted at the final details. At about midnight local time he tweeted: “#Brexit work will continue into the night. All Brexit viewers are advised to take a nap this time. Hopefully it will start early tomorrow morning …”
On Wednesday, the No. 10 adviser told CNN that the conversation was “moving forward but not there.” An EU diplomat agreed, telling CNN on Wednesday that “a deal may come today or tomorrow but is not there yet.”
Any potential deal would later face ratification process before it takes effect on January 1, 2021, when the Brexit transition period ends and the UK will no longer be subject to EU rules.
There was once a concern that the deal would not be recognized before the transition period ended; However, European bodies, including the European Parliament, have agreed to sit for extra hours until the end of the year to get the agreement approved in time.
The fear of having a hold on a timely transaction approval for the expiration of the transition period is largely overcome by the fact that it is possible to implement the trade transaction legally before ratification, which means that in the worst case scenario, very serious losses could still be avoided.
News of a possible deal comes against the backdrop of coronavirus surging cases in the UK. After a potentially more infectious closure of the border by France, thousands of trucks from Europe stopped at the English port of Dover for a third day – which could be a preview of the kind of border chaos. “No Deal” from Brexit.
But progress is a key milestone in the saga that the UK began in 2016 with a vote to leave the EU.
The Brexit debate will continue
In the UK itself, no agreement is likely to end years of toxic political debate over the country’s relations with Europe.
Eurosceptic legislators are already planning efforts to ensure that the deal leaves no room for the UK to return to EU orbit. Pro-Europeans will hope that at some point in the future, the UK, perhaps under new leadership, will strengthen ties with Brussels.
Without a trade agreement, UK companies would lose tariff- and quota-free access to the EU market of more than 100 million customers, which buy about half of the country’s exports and provide an equal share of its imports. For the EU, the UK is far less important, accounting for only 4% of blink exports in 2019 and 6% of imports.
Earlier this month, the Prime Minister stressed that regardless of what the deal looks like, the UK will “prosper vigorously as an independent nation.”
While any deal is likely to be less economically damaging than any other, the UK will still be poorer in the long run than it would have been in the European Union, the independent agency producing economic forecasts for the government said in November.
At the present time, there is no hunger for further negotiations after years of painful disagreement on both sides.
Hannah Ziadi contributed to this report.
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