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After nine months of widespread anxiety in London and Brussels, a trade agreement is approved that will ensure that the United Kingdom continues to enjoy the benefits of accessing the European Union’s single market, without tariffs or quotas. But for Europeans with all their hearts this is a sad day, a little less sad because there is an agreement, but still many see the UK’s departure as a loss for the entire European project.
On Twitter, Terry Reintke from the German Greens explained, in a context with differences between what it means to be a full member and what this agreement establishes, the different areas in which there was no agreement – and regrets that there are no guarantees , for example, for the continuity of the Erasmus program.
The next step is the provisional application of the agreement, because the European Parliament (EP) no longer has time to analyze and ratify it before 1 January, when the transition period ends and the new life of the United Kingdom as a country begins. relative to the EU, despite the advantages that no other third country has in trade with the bloc. In this provisional application, only the Member States have to approve, and the EP will do the same after 1 January.
The British parliament also needs to ratify the deal, so, says Sky News, it is highly likely that MPs will be convened in the middle of the Christmas holidays to approve the deal.
“We finally managed to reach an agreement, after going a long way with many obstacles. It is a fair and balanced agreement and it is the responsible attitude that both parties must take, “said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, this afternoon, confessing feeling” relieved. “
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, has also issued a statement on the historic agreement. “For our citizens and companies, a comprehensive agreement with our neighbor, friend and ally is the best result. In recent years, the EU has shown unity and determination in negotiations with the UK. We will continue to maintain the same unity, ”he wrote in a document sent to journalists, adding that, despite optimism and the feeling that there is no longer a kind of weight on the collective shoulders of the member states,“ the process has not yet is over “. Now, “the time has come for the Council and the European Parliament to analyze the agreement reached by the negotiators, before giving it the green light.”
“The deal is done”
“The deal is done” is the first sentence of the statement that Boris Johnson’s team sent to the newsrooms. The translation: “The deal is done” is the fulfillment of everything Johnson has promised since he succeeded Theresa May with the promise to do so even if it happened a few minutes ago: a trade agreement that would finally make Brexit a reality.
The following sentence from the statement is likely to merit a little more scrutiny from critics: “Everything that was promised during the 2016 referendum and last year’s general election to the British people is in this agreement: we are in control. of our money, borders, laws, trade and our waters. “Like the one below, for the same reasons: a skepticism about the real level of detachment the UK has achieved from EU rules.” The agreement guarantees that we are no longer in the orbit of EU rules: there is no longer jurisdiction here for the Court of Justice of the European Union and all our fundamental red lines on the return of sovereignty have been achieved “, reinforces the release.
Doubts are already circulating on Twitter: why should the EU leave the UK “free”, as Johnson says, but within the single market? Ursula von der Leyen, at the same press conference mentioned above, stressed that the UK and the EU remain “aligned”: “Firstly, competition in our single market will remain fair. The rules and standards of the EU will be respected. EU We have effective mechanisms in place if fair competition is disrupted in any way and impacts our agreement Second, we will continue to cooperate with the UK in all areas of mutual interest, for example climate change, energy, security and transport. “
Looking at the two public statements, it seems that only one of the speeches can be factually correct, but in fact it was already known that it would be like this: the EU, on the one hand, saying that its values prevailed, London waving the newly independent flags. recovered.
There are hundreds of pages of agreements that have yet to be read to understand what is really at stake.
(in update)
