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European Union member states have begun reviewing the trade and cooperation deal agreed with Britain on Christmas Eve as MPs prepare to return to Westminster next week to vote on it.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier briefed the ambassadors of the 27 member states on the deal on Christmas Day.
The deal is almost certain to be approved by both parties. Although the EU will have to apply it provisionally from January 1 pending the approval of the European Parliament at the end of next month.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson can be confident that he will win a majority for the deal in the House of Commons after Labor leader Keir Starmer said his party would back him.
Welcoming the deal at a press conference in Downing Street, Johnson said it would protect British jobs while restoring Britain’s sovereignty and honoring the outcome of the 2016 referendum.
“We will be able to set our own standards, to innovate in the way we want, to generate new frameworks for the sectors in which this country leads the world, from biosciences to financial services, artificial intelligence and more. We can decide how and where we are going to stimulate new jobs and new hopes, with free ports and new green industrial zones, ”he said.
The deal, which was finalized after nine months of sometimes turbulent negotiations, guarantees duty-free and quota-free trade in goods between Britain and the EU.
Trusted merchant schemes and self-verification systems will reduce the impact of a strict customs and regulatory border that will apply to all parts of the UK except Northern Ireland from 1 January.
The deal also covers security, energy, transport and social welfare and Britain’s Home Secretary Priti Patel said a new streamlined extradition deal would replace the European arrest warrant, which Britain is abandoning.
“I am immensely proud of the complete package of capabilities that we have agreed with the EU. It means that both parties have effective tools to combat serious crime and terrorism, protect the public and bring criminals to justice, ”he said last night.
“But we will also seize this historic opportunity to make the UK safer and more secure through stronger and fairer border controls.”
Announcing the deal in Brussels on Christmas Eve, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was fair and balanced.
Leaving is such a sweet pain
Quoting Shakespeare, he said that “parting is such a sweet pain” but promised that the EU and Britain would stand shoulder to shoulder to meet their common global goals.
“Of course, this whole debate has always been about sovereignty. But we must cut the fragments and ask ourselves what sovereignty really means in the 21st century, “he said. “No agreement in the world can change the reality or the gravity of the economy and the world today. We are one of the giants. ”
French President Emmanuel Macron, seen in Britain as the hard-line European leader during the negotiations, also welcomed the deal.
“The unity and strength of Europe paid off,” he said. “The agreement with the United Kingdom is essential to protect our citizens, our fishermen, our producers. We will ensure that this is the case. ”
MPs and colleagues will return to Westminster next Wednesday to debate and vote on the legislation for the deal in a single day.
A small number of staunch conservative Brexiters are expected to vote against and some Labor MPs have signaled that they could defy their leader’s instruction to vote up.
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