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LONDON / BRUSSELS – After months of tough talks, the European Union and the UK reached a post-Brexit trade deal on Thursday.
European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference that the Brexit deal is “good, balanced and fair for both parties”, describing Britain as a “reliable partner”.
And he transferred the negotiations on the Brexit trade agreement since last Monday, to the president of the European Commission and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The agreement guarantees the two parties the continuation of trade and the movement of goods without tariffs or quotas, according to the same source.
Negotiations for the trade agreement were based on the distribution of some 650 million euros of products that the European Union catches each year in United Kingdom waters and the period to be determined for European fishermen to adapt to the new situation, which it is Britain’s official exit from the Union on January 31 and its abandonment of the so-called market. Uniform.
Member states are supposed to ratify the deal in a process that takes a few days.
It is noteworthy that trade between the European Union and London would have been subject to the rules of the World Trade Organization, which means imposing customs duties and setting quotas, as well as applying administrative procedures that can lead to large traffic jams and delay the delivery of goods if the two parties do not reach this agreement.
Britain exports 47 percent of its products to European countries, while the European Union exports only 8 percent of its products to the other bank in the English Channel.
The dispute over fishing in British waters almost hampered one of the most important trade deals in modern European history between Brussels and London, inevitably sparing them a chaotic end to Brexit that would have caused serious economic repercussions for both parties.
Representatives of the European Union expressed their welcome to finally reach a trade agreement with Great Britain for the post-retirement period, as well as their regret regarding parts of the agreement.
Johnson praised the new post-Brexit trade deal signed with the European Union, saying its annual value is about 660 billion pounds ($ 895 billion) and is 500 pages long.
German Chancellor Heiko Maas expressed his satisfaction at reaching a trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union for the period after the British exit from the bloc.
In turn, French President Emmanuel Macron praised the “unity and steadfastness” of the European Union, noting that this resulted in the success in reaching a post-Brexit deal with Britain.
Macron said on Twitter that “Europe’s unity and steadfastness has paid off,” adding that “the deal with the UK is necessary to protect our citizens, fishermen and producers. We will work to ensure that.”
Britain formally left the bloc on January 31, but has since been in a transition period during which the rules for trade, travel and business remain unchanged, but this transition period will end at the end of the year.
A last-minute deal would prevent the harshest possible end to Brexit, but London is on the brink of relations, far further from its biggest trading partner than almost anyone imagined when it voted to leave the Union in 2016.
