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The United Kingdom and the European Union announced on Thursday that they had reached a business agreement in extremis, one week after their final separation, which will avoid a sudden break with chaotic consequences for economies already badly hit by the pandemic.
(Read here: The United Kingdom creates a border operation center for post-Brexit).
“We have signed the first free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and quotas that has been achieved with the EU“A British government source congratulated. The news, delayed throughout the day by last-minute problems about fishing quotas, was announced at the same time by European sources in Brussels.
After a long night of negotiation in Brussels, the announcement of the historic deal seemed imminent Thursday at dawnBut last-minute problems with fishing quotas had everyone on edge for much of the day, even leading to fear of failure.
(You may be interested in: Guide to understanding the UK’s exit from the EU).
Now, this announcement on the edge of Christmas Eve theoretically leaves enough time for the agreement to be approved by the 27 member countries of the EU and can enter into force from 11:00 pm. December 31, when the post-Brexit transition period ends.
We have signed the first free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and quotas that has been reached with the EU
The post-Brexit trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union is a “good, balanced, fair agreement” for both parties, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, declared at a press conference on Thursday.
The UK will remain “a trustworthy partner” of the EU, Von der Leyen said, adding that the deal “it will allow us to ensure that we can definitely put Brexit behind us“.
(Further: EU authorizes “essential” connections with the UK).
This complex text full of technical details, some 2,000 pages according to British media, will still have to be ratified by the European Parliament and the British deputies in Westminster.
The latter should be ordered to interrupt your Christmas vacation to return to camera early next week.
Thanks to the overwhelming parliamentary majority of the Conservative Party of Johnson, obtained a year ago with the promise of “carrying out Brexit”, the text is guaranteed to be approved in the UK.
In the White Cliffs of Dover (England), off the French coast, a message says ‘The United Kingdom left the EU’
It is unknown when the European Parliament will meet for its part, but the agreement could provisionally enter into force without ratification pending its return in January.
In recent weeks of intense talks between London and Brussels there was regular speculation about the failure of these negotiations, given the great differences that separated both parties on key issues such as fisheries and fair competition rules.
(Read here: The Latino force prevails in the government of Joe Biden in the United States.).
The talks were overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic, exacerbated in the UK by the emergence of a new strain more transmissible than previous ones.
Large parts of the country, one of the worst hit in Europe with more than 69,000 dead, are once again confined for the third time. And the closing of the French borders for two days caused monumental truck jams near the port of Dover, the main one on the English side of the English Channel, causing fear for supplies a few days before the holidays.
AFP
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