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AMBASSADORS OF THE 27 members of the European Union were briefed on the content of the Brexit trade agreement on Christmas Day.
Diplomats were being updated on the landmark deal by Michel Barnier, who led the Brussels negotiating team in talks with the UK.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hailed the agreement reached with the EU as a “new beginning” for Britain that solves the European question that has “haunted” British politics for generations.
But fisheries leaders claimed Johnson had sacrificed the industry to secure a trade deal, while Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer called the deal “slim,” though his party will back it in next week’s Commons vote because the alternative would be a “devastating” no. deal scenario.
The belated haggling of the deal meant it wasn’t finalized until Christmas Eve, days before current trade deals were to expire in late December.
Thanks to @dfatirl team in Brussels under the leadership of Ambassador Tom Hanney, who is having an unusual Christmas morning today. GRMA #Merry Christmas #BrexitDeal #MERRY CHRISTMAS https://t.co/uxH47R69nT
– 🌲🎅Thomas Byrne TD – 🇮🇪🇪🇺 (@ThomasByrneTD) December 25, 2020
The timing of the deal has forced politicians and officials from the UK and Brussels to break Christmas plans.
The 27 members of the European Union have yet to back the deal, which was criticized by European Commission officials with the United Kingdom.
MPs and colleagues will be called to Westminster on December 30 to vote on the deal, but MEPs are not expected to approve it until the new year, meaning they will have to provisionally apply until they give the green light.
Sebastian Fischer, spokesman for the German presidency of the Council of the EU, joked that he was looking forward to the meeting of diplomats “because nothing is more fun than celebrating Christmas with socially estranged colleagues.”
“Thank you Brexit,” he said, perhaps underscoring the EU’s desire to get over the issue.
French Europe Minister Clement Beaune said it was a “good deal” and stressed that the EU had not accepted a deal “at all costs”.
He told Europe 1 broadcaster that “we needed a deal less than the British” as “for them, it was a vital need.”
Beaune said British food and industrial products entering the European single market after January 1 will not pay customs duties “but will have to meet all of our standards.”
“There is no country in the world that is subject to as many export rules for us as the UK,” he said.
Johnson used his Christmas message to sell the deal to a Brexit-weary public after years of sometimes bitter bickering since the 2016 referendum.
Brandishing a sheaf of papers, he said, “I have a little gift for anyone looking for something to read at that sleepy post-Christmas lunch moment, and here it is, news, good news of great joy, because this is a deal.
“A deal to give certainty to businessmen, travelers and all investors in our country as of January 1. A deal with our friends and partners in the EU. “
Johnson said the document “will be the basis for a happy, successful and stable partnership with our friends in the EU for years to come.”
The Prime Minister has stated that the agreement meets the targets set during the 2016 campaign to “regain control”.
He said it covers trade worth around £ 660bn and means:
– Goods and components can be sold without tariffs or quotas on the EU market.
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– The proportion of fish in British waters that the UK can catch increases from about half now to two thirds by the end of the five and a half year transition.
– Complaints of unfair competition will be judged by an independent arbitration panel with the possibility of a “proportionate” response.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Christmas Eve, Johnson said that “as a result of this deal, rather prodigious amounts of extra fish will be able to be caught and eaten,” with £ 100 million for the industry to modernize and expand.
But Barrie Deas, executive director of the British National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations, said there will be “frustration and anger” across the industry, telling the Palestinian Authority news agency: “In the end, it was clear that Boris Johnson he wanted a general trade agreement and he was willing to sacrifice fishing. “
The deal also disappointed the Irish fishing industry, and the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organization (KFO) said yesterday that it will not accept the new deals that will reduce its members’ access to UK waters.
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