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The year ends and, with it, the transition period associated with the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (EU) ends. The trade agreement signed on Christmas Eve and approved this Wednesday in London is another step towards the realization of a process that has taken more than five years and that will now begin to translate into changes in the real life of the British. .
The first obvious aspect to take effect is border control. The EU, being an economic area where there is free movement of goods and merchandise, does not carry out border controls on those who move between Member States.
The United Kingdom, by abandoning this condition, begins to see its citizens subject to the presentation of passports, medical insurance that guarantees coverage in the EU and should start using the lines in these positions reserved for non-EU citizens.
For a British citizen who wants to move to a European country, the guaranteed right of residence also ceases to exist, and there is a bureaucratic process associated with this move. The reverse is also true, as the UK now operates on a point system to determine if a given person is eligible to live on British soil.
Cabinet Minister Michael Dove has already acknowledged that the first months will certainly be “a difficult road”, but guaranteed that the executive will do everything possible to facilitate the process.
In terms of trade, there will also be many changes. Despite the Prime Minister’s repeated announcement that there will be no quotas or tariffs, the truth is that there are several products subject to border controls, especially to assess whether they meet the strict safety and quality control standards required by the European Economic Area. . This is the case with plants, processed foods of animal origin, or even live animals.
British companies, like citizens of the country, also lose the right to operate in the European market without establishing a subsidiary or affiliate in one of the Member States, as has been the case up to now. In addition, some professions such as doctor or architect no longer have their qualifications automatically recognized in the EU, this approval being subject to the specific laws of each European country.
In other matters, the UK also has a partnership with Europol like the one signed with the US, despite having ceased to be a member of the agency, and privacy and data protection laws are no longer in force on British territory. The Court of Justice of the European Union also has no voice in the UK, and disputes between the two blocs are resolved in an independent international court.
One of the changes with the greatest practical impact on the lives of future generations is leaving the country from the Erasmus program. Boris Johnson said it was a difficult decision, but justified by the cost of the program, and announced that his government plans to introduce a replacement in September next year, named for Alan Turing, the English mathematician crucial in the effort to decode the Program. German secret messages during World War II.
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