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Original title: Post-Brexit-era trade deal finally reached, UK still faces major Brexit challenges
Reference News Network reported on December 27 that foreign media said that after Britain and the European Union reached a hard-won post-Brexit trade deal, the UK opened a new chapter on the 25th. After months of Through arduous negotiations, the representatives of the EU member states reached this agreement and expressed a quiet welcome.
According to an AFP report in London on December 25, an EU diplomat told an AFP reporter: “There is nothing to be happy about, because divorce is not good news.”
The diplomat said that the response of the representatives of the EU member states was “calm enough” that the text – more than 1,200 pages in English – will now be “revised to ensure that there are no details that could cause hidden dangers.”
The diplomat also said delegates are expected to meet on the 28th to begin the approval process.
Economic shocks are inevitable
According to the report, for the UK, the deal means that it will not find a “steep” drop in trade on January 1 next year and will avoid a lot of unfavorable tariffs and quotas.
But as London finally withdraws from the EU single market and free flow with the EU comes to an end after almost half a century of integration, major changes are inevitable.
Another European diplomat told the Agence France-Presse reporter: “We must not underestimate the economic impact that the UK will experience.”
The report noted that since officially leaving the EU on January 31, the UK has been in a stagnant transition period and is still subject to EU regulations.
In a video broadcast on the night of the 24th, British Prime Minister Johnson stood in front of a Christmas tree in Downing Street and praised the thousands of pages of the agreement’s text as “a good deal for all of Europe” and was greeted by the UK. A gift”.
Anand Menon, director of the think tank “Britain in a changing Europe”, told AFP that it was a “victory speech”.
Menon said: “Johnson was elected prime minister to complete Brexit, and now he has.”
Johnson has reportedly been criticized for his ineffective response to the new corona epidemic. So far, the epidemic has caused nearly 70,000 deaths in the UK, the worst in Europe.
Thousands of trucks have reportedly been stranded in the English Channel port in recent days after France and other European partners closed border crossings due to increased infections caused by new mutant strains. The new mutant strain is believed to be more infectious.
The report also said that as the ferry crossings and tunnels were unusually open on Christmas Day, and British soldiers were screened for the virus, there were signs of breaking the deadlock.
Some people pointed out that the transport chaos has exacerbated people’s concerns about the shortage of fresh produce, which may give a glimpse of what awaits the UK if it leaves the EU single market without reaching a deal.
The hidden concerns of the fisheries agreement
According to the report, the European Union has provided the United Kingdom with unprecedented tariff and quota-free access to the single market, which has 450 million consumers.
However, in return, the European Union received a commitment from London to abide by evolving rules in areas such as environmental protection, labor regulation and taxation, to prevent Britain from undermining EU companies.
Britain also promised in the agreement that it will not abuse government aid to businesses to seek unfair advantages.
The report noted that as London seeks to reduce the fishing share of the EU’s 650 million euro fishing fleet (1 euro is about 8 yuan, this net note) by more than a third, the problem of fishing has become the last hurdle this week.
The final agreement decided to reduce the cost by 25% in five and a half years.
Since reducing the fishing quota is a major disadvantage of the deal, EU officials have pledged to support their fishing sector in the process. The president of the European Commission, Von der Lein, said that the agreement is generally “fair and balanced”.
Or fall into self isolation
The British “Times” stated that for the UK, “reaching an agreement is a great achievement in many respects”.
But he also said the final deal is “a relief rather than a celebration” because the new restrictions include prohibiting citizens of EU countries from freely entering the UK and British citizens from freely entering the EU.
The Times warned: “The deal is not the end of this process. Now that (Johnson) has delivered on his Brexit promise, his challenge will be post-Brexit success.”
The left-wing British newspaper “The Guardian” even nailed it, saying “Johnson is not to be commended for driving so eagerly into a disaster that is in sight.”
The newspaper also said that, in fact, the agreement “means the immediate downgrade of the British economy”.
Another EU diplomatic source said that for the UK’s heavyweight financial sector, “in the long run, the reality of Brexit is to follow EU rules or isolate itself.”
British MPs will reportedly debate the deal on the 30th and the deal will no doubt be approved after the opposition Labor Party pledges to support it.
Barnier (center), the main European Union negotiator, attended the meeting in Brussels on December 25 with the text of the Brexit trade agreement. (Reuters)
