[ad_1]
Britain is heading into a new chapter in its relationship with the rest of Europe with Boris Johnson vowing to pit the country against the EU in a race for economic success.
After nine months of tortuous talks, a Brexit deal was struck at 1.44pm GMT on Christmas Eve, preventing a no-deal exit from the transition period with just a week to go.
The deal was greeted with “relief tinged with some sadness” in Brussels. But Johnson said it was the solution to the controversial issue of Britain’s relationship with Europe, 48 years since the country joined the then European economic community.
Flanked by large union flags, the prime minister said: “This European issue has been going on for decades. I think this gives us the platform, the foundation for a really prosperous new relationship. “
The agreement fulfilled the promise of a “giant free trade zone” characterized by “regulatory competition,” Johnson said. “We have regained control of the laws and our destiny … We have regained control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a complete and unrestricted manner.”
The prime minister said the UK had earned the right “to set our own standards, to innovate in the way we want” in key sectors such as biosciences and artificial intelligence. “British laws will be enacted only by the British Parliament; played by British judges, sitting in UK courts, ”he said.
His optimism contrasted with the expectations of the government’s own independent forecaster, the Office of Budget Responsibility, which expects Brexit to cut 4% of GDP in the medium term.
As of January 1, the majority of UK citizens will lose the right to free movement and UK companies will face significant additional costs when doing business with their largest export market.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen kindly questioned Johnson’s understanding of sovereignty, the watchword of the British negotiation led by David Frost, and welcomed the deal.
She said: “Of course, this whole debate has always been about sovereignty. But we should stop talking and wondering what sovereignty really means in the 21st century.
“For me, it’s about being able to work, travel, study and do business without problems in 27 countries. It is about pooling our strengths and talking together in a world full of great powers. And in times of crisis, it’s about cheering each other up. Instead of trying to get back on your feet, alone.
“And the European Union shows how this works in practice. No agreement in the world can change the reality of [the] severity in today’s economy. And in today’s world, we are one of the giants. “
Von der Leyen referenced Shakespeare, the Beatles and TS Eliot at the start of the new era. “It was a long and winding road, but we have a lot to show. It’s fair. It’s a balanced deal. And it is the correct and responsible thing for both parties, ”he said. “At the end of a successful negotiation, I usually feel joy. But today I feel only a calm satisfaction and, frankly, a relief.
“I know this is a difficult day for some, and for our friends in the UK I want to tell you that parting is such a sweet pain but, to use TS Eliot’s line, what we call the beginning is often the end. . And ending is often a beginning. So for all Europeans, I think it’s time to leave Brexit behind. “
Most of Johnson’s themes in his speech, including sovereignty, regulatory independence and fisheries, were those close to the heart of the MPs who backed Brexit and helped him win the Conservative leadership last year.
With MPs set to vote on the deal on Wednesday, December 30, Downing Street has kept Eurosceptic MPs close by as negotiations unfolded.
After the deal was reached, many said they would await the verdict of a “star chamber” of experts convened by the in-depth European Research Group to review the deal line by line.
The group, made up of lawyers and politicians, including former Europe Minister David Jones, is expected to release its findings on Monday.
In a sign of the battles to come, representatives of the fishing industry said they were “bitterly disappointed” with what Johnson described as a “prodigious” increase in the amount of fish the UK could land.
Barrie Deas, director of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations, said Johnson had had his “Ted Heath moment,” a reference to his predecessor giving up fishing rights in British waters in 1973. A five-year transition period and Half introducing changes gradually, with the UK agreeing to a repatriation of 25% of quotas, amounted to “justice deferred, justice denied,” he said.
The prime minister urged Brexit supporters and those left to get out of the divisions that have plagued UK politics since the referendum. “My message to everyone on both sides of that argument in 2016 is that I really believe that now it is long gone,” he said.
It stated that the UK would remain “culturally, emotionally, historically, strategically and geologically united to Europe, notably through the 4 million EU citizens who have applied to settle in the UK over the past four years and who make a huge contribution to our country. ” and to our lives ”.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said it was “a day of relief but tinged with some sadness.” He regretted the government’s decision not to be a member of the Erasmus student exchange program and the lack of cooperation in foreign policy and defense.
The deal will be examined by EU leaders, but both French President Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said they believed the deal would be in place by the end of the year.
