“Deal Is Done”: Post-Brexit Trade deal finalised

PTI, Dec 25, 2020, 12:46 PM IST

Brussels: Britain and the European Union struck a post-Brexit trade deal Thursday that they hope will cushion the economic blow of the UK’s imminent departure from the bloc after months of tortuous negotiations.

“The deal is done,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted, declaring that the UK would remain Europe’s ally and “number one market”.

“We have finally found an agreement,” the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said.

“It was a long and winding road, but we have a good deal at the end of it,” she said. “The single market will be fair and remain so.”

Britain formally left the EU in January after a deeply divisive referendum in 2016, the first country to split from the political and economic project that was born as the continent rebuilt in the aftermath of World War II.

But London remains tied to the EU’s rules during a transition period that runs until midnight on December 31, when the UK will leave the bloc’s single market and customs union.

The final 2,000-page agreement was held up by last-minute wrangling over fishing as both sides haggled over the access EU fishermen will get to Britain’s waters after the end of the year.

Von der Leyen thanked the British negotiators and said that although the UK would become a “third country” it would be a trusted partner.

“This agreement is in the United Kingdom’s interest, it will set solid foundations for a new start with a long term friend,” she said.

“And it means that we can finally put Brexit behind us and Europe is continuing to move forward,” she said.

Irish premier Micheal Martin — whose EU member state would have been hard hit by a no-deal — said the accord was “very welcome”.

“While we will miss the UK from the European Union, the fact that a deal is now in place means we can focus on how we manage good relationship in the years ahead,” he said on Twitter.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “confident” that the deal was a “good outcome” as it now goes over to EU member states to agree.

The deal is done. pic.twitter.com/zzhvxOSeWz

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 24, 2020

EU states to ratify

Following the announcement of the political accord, von der Leyen’s Commission will send the text to the European capitals.

They are expected to take two or three days to analyse the agreement and decide whether to approve its provisional implementation.

The UK parliament will also have to interrupt its end of year holidays to vote on the deal before the December 31 cut-off.

Once it is signed off and the text published in the EU’s official journal it will go into effect on January 1 when Britain has left the bloc’s single market.

The European Parliament will then have a chance to retrospectively approve the deal at some point in 2021, speaker David Sassoli said.