[ad_1]
– It is important that they have agreed to an agreement, because it creates more predictability both between the EU and the UK, also for Norway, says Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide (H) to NRK.
She says it remains to be seen what the details of the deal consist of, as it has not been made public.
– We must analyze whether it has any consequences for Norway, says Søreide.
She says Norway already has a duty-free industrial products agreement with the UK, and that this will continue.
Norway must have a new agreement
In autumn, Norway and the UK agreed on a bilateral framework agreement on fisheries cooperation. It means that Norway’s agreement with the EU of 1980 has ended.
Fishermen from EU countries risk being expelled from Norwegian waters if a fisheries agreement between the EU, the UK and Norway does not come into force before the New Year.
This was announced by the Minister of Fisheries and Seafood Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen (H) at the beginning of December.
There have been great fears that there is still no trade deal after the transition period expires on New Year’s Eve.
Søreide says a seafood deal has also been concluded between Norway and the UK, which is still valid.
– It is quite an important part of what we have temporarily negotiated with the UK. We are also working full time on a free trade agreement that we hope will be ready soon, Søreide told NRK.
However, it emphasizes that trade between Norway and the UK will have to proceed in a different way than when they were part of the EU internal market.
Søreide says that changes will also be likely in the following areas:
- Free movement of people. Norwegians living in the UK will now be able to live with the same rights as today. Norwegians who do not live in the UK will now have to apply for a visa if they are to stay in the country for more than 30 days. Norwegians will also be covered by the new British immigration system.
- Students. The United Kingdom abandons the so-called Erasmus program. The Norwegian authorities do not have an overview of the consequences this may have for current or future Norwegian students.
- Shopping and football trips are unlikely to be affected by Brexit. An aviation agreement has been signed with the UK, which means the planes will operate normally after the pandemic.
Traded all night
The chaos in Dover has been a warning of the chaos that can come after the New Year. Earlier this week, there were long traffic jams in the port city of Dover, where around 10,000 trucks pass by on a daily basis and represent around 20% of UK retail.
The British Parliament, in which Johnson has a majority, is expected to vote on a deal on December 30.
The European Parliament has said that they will not have time to consider it before the New Year. Instead, the union can have a temporary agreement in which the agreement runs from the new year, but is subsequently approved by parliament.
The parties negotiated throughout the night after Johnson held a conference call with several ministers on Christmas Eve.
The fish was tough
A French government source said the same night that Britain had made significant concessions to unsolved fisheries problems, one of the most difficult to agree on.
– In principle, the fishing has been clear for some time. But the details are discussed in both overtime and overtime, and it’s not surprising with some last-minute difficulty, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney tells RTE.
After years of unrest and Brexit postponements, Prime Minister Boris Johnson may cash in on what is seen as a major political victory in London.
Johnson is the non-European general who has worked for this since 2016 when the majority of Brits responded in a referendum that they want to leave the EU after more than 40 years as a member.
It will be exciting to see if the British fishermen are happy or if they feel like they have been misled. Fishermen are among those who have had the highest expectations of Brexit and the slogan “regain control of their own borders.”
The EU has wanted to allow its Danish, Belgian, Dutch and French fishermen to continue fishing in British waters and has threatened punitive tariffs on UK fish imports to do so.
Politicians must ratify the agreement
For the full agreement, all remaining EU member states must also accept the agreement. The main contentious topics in the final sprint have been fish, subsidies, and who will decide future contentious topics between the parties.
