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Four and a half years after the British voted to leave the European Union, London and Brussels reached an agreement. The announcement, postponed in the morning, was made in Brussels by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von Der Leyen, and in London by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in the early afternoon.
Underlining that the agreement reached “prevents major disruptions for workers, businesses and travelers after January 1” of 2021, Von der Leyen admitted, “frankly”, I am “relieved” that the European Union can finally turn this page.
“To all Europeans, I say: it is time to leave Brexit behind. Our future is made in Europe,” he concluded.
Von der Leyen also said that he is satisfied, but that this “Separation is a sweet sadness.”
as well Michel Barnier considered that today is “a day of relief” and congratulated himself for now “the hands of the clock have stopped counting, after four years of collective effort “.
The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, welcomed “with the fact that an agreement was reached today on the future relationship between the EU and the UK”, who stressed, “Parliament will now analyze in detail”.
“Parliament thanks and congratulates the EU and UK negotiators for their intensive efforts to reach, even at the last minute, this historic agreement. While I still deeply regret the UK’s decision to leave the EU, I have always believed that negotiated is in the best interest of both parties. This agreement can now form the basis for building a new partnership “commented.
Regretting that the negotiations have dragged on so long and that Parliament cannot speak before the end of the “transition period” on December 31, Sassoli said the assembly will decide whether or not to approve the agreement “in the New Year.”
Later, Boris Johnson also spoke about the Agreement to the British, saying that this “will protect jobs across the country.”
“We have regained control of our laws and our destiny,” he said, adding that the UK will now be a ‘dynamic and prosperous’ country, which will not be a “bad thing” for the EU.
“[O acordo] Above all it means certainty, for the aviation industry, carriers, police, border forces and all those who keep us safe “he said, adding, that “It means the certainty for our scientists that they will be able to work together in great collective projects”.
“But above all it means certainty for companies”.
The last minute details led to the postponement of the announcement of the Brexit trade deal, which was initially scheduled for 8:00 am (Brussels time), with a statement from Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference.
But “last minute difficulties” have arisen over the fisheries dossier, as the head of Irish diplomacy has publicly admitted.
Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were in contact even during the last morning to ‘seal’ the deal, a week before the end of the “transition period” for the consummation of “Brexit”, on December 31. . A few days before the end of the “transitional period” for the consummation of ‘Brexit’, and after 10 months of negotiations that on several occasions seemed definitely doomed to failure, an agreement already seemed “imminent”.
Now the UK Parliament is expected to be called to vote on the deal, with December 30 being the most likely date. The EU Parliament will also have to vote on this understanding.
Although it is no longer technically feasible to ratify the agreement by both parties, The agreement will provisionally enter into force on January 1, 2021. The compromise will be presented to the Council (the 27 Member States) and the European Parliament, on the European side, and must also be approved by the House of Commons in London.
Therefore, the European Commission proposes that the agreement with the United Kingdom be applied provisionally until February 28, 2021, and the Council is expected to issue its opinion in the coming days.
If a compromise is not reached, as of January 1, trade between the United Kingdom and the EU would be carried out under the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which would imply the application of tariffs and import quotas. , the compromise reached now is free trade.
What is the Agreement?
This agreement allows the start of a new relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. For the British, the understanding meets the objectives of the 2016 referendum and the 2019 elections, and will bring significant benefits for both parties.
The British government even claimed to have fulfilled electoral promises to make Brexit a reality by negotiating a trade agreement with the European Union (EU) that guarantees an expansion of the economic relationship without quotas or tariffs.
“Everything that was promised during the 2016 referendum and last year’s general elections to the British people is in this agreement: we regain control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our waters.”, read in a statement from the British government.
“The agreement ensures 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 of our fundamental red lines on the return of sovereignty have been achieved.”, reinforces the document.
But even before the deal was official, according to a document cited by the British press, The Boris Johnson government claimed victory over the European Union on 28 points of the agreement, acknowledging that it only made concessions on 11 issues.
The agreement reached this Thursday, therefore, allows continuity for the UK and EU economies, supporting businesses on both sides of the channel to continue a deep and close business relationship, fully respecting UK sovereignty and EU regulatory autonomy.
The fisheries dossier turned out to be the “thorniest” among those who dragged the negotiations around the new association agreement between Brussels and London – in addition to the competition and governance issues of the agreement (dispute resolution) -, And in the end, with this agreement, the parties agreed that the EU will transfer 25 percent of the value of the catches of the European fleets to the United Kingdom, which in return will continue to have access to British waters where they traditionally fish until June 2026.
After that date, The parties will proceed to negotiate fishing quotas annually, European officials said following the announcement of the agreement on future EU-UK relations in the post-‘Brexit ‘, closed today.
Johnson and Von der Leyen were directly involved in the negotiations, in recent days, through telephone calls on several occasions to try to unblock the process that had been going on for several months, affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the opposite opinions of both parties about what happened. implies ‘Brexit’.
There were already rumors that there might be a trade deal before Christmas, based on progress on the main pending issues: competition, future conflict resolution and fisheries.
Negotiators from the EU and UK worked through the night and into Christmas Eve to put the final touches on a trade deal aimed at avoiding a chaotic rift between the two sides on New Year’s Day. After resolving outstanding questions about fair competition and nearly all disputes over fisheries on Wednesday, negotiators examined hundreds of pages of legal text that will define the post-Brexit relationship between the British and the EU 27.
For much of the negotiations, the issue of EU fishing fleets in British waters turned out to be the most complicated, forcing negotiators to discuss quotas for some species until dawn Thursday.
Even with an agreement As of January 1, customs controls will be carried out and additional bureaucracy will be required because the UK becomes a third country and is no longer a member of the bloc’s single market and customs union. A trade agreement only avoids the imposition of customs duties that could cost both parties many millions in trade and hundreds of thousands of jobs and begin to apply the conditions of the World Trade Organization.
The British government itself acknowledged that the absence of an agreement would translate into delays in the movement of goods through ports to the EU, temporary shortages of some products and higher prices for staple foods, in addition to tariffs of 10 percent on imports. automobile exports and 40 percent. cent on the lamb.
The text of the agreement, which will have more than two thousand pages, must now be approved by the British Parliament, in an abbreviated and accelerated process between Christmas and New Year. Therefore, there are many pages of agreement that have not yet been read to understand what is really at stake.
