Britain and the European Union have signed an interim free trade agreement that should prevent New Year’s chaos for cross-border traders and provide some security for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.
With just over a week to go until the UK’s final separation from the EU, the UK government said “the deal is over”.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was pleased with the deal.
“At the end of a successful negotiation trip, I usually feel joy. But today I just feel a satisfaction and frankly a relief. I know this is a difficult day for some, and for our friends in the UK, I want to to say: separating is such a sweet pain, ”von der Leyen told reporters.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, said that the agreement achieved what those who had voted for Brexit were looking for.
“We have regained control of our laws and our destiny. We have regained control of all points and titles of our regulation in a complete and unrestricted manner,” Johnson said in televised statements.
He stressed that, under the terms of the new agreement, Britain would remain close to Europe.
“We will be your friend, your ally, your advocate and, in fact, we will never forget you, your number one market. Because, even though we left the EU, this country will remain culturally, emotionally, historically, strategically linked. , geologically Europe, “Johnson continued.
The 500-page agreement should ensure that both parties can negotiate goods without tariffs or quotas. But despite progress, key aspects of the future relationship between the 27-nation bloc and its former member remain uncertain.
The British and European parliaments must vote on the agreement, although the agreement may not pass until the UK leaves the EU’s economic embrace on 1 January.
Months of tense and often difficult negotiations gradually reduced the differences between the two sides to three key issues: rules of fair competition, mechanisms for resolving future disputes and fishing rights. The rights of EU vessels to tow in British waters remained the last hurdle before it was resolved.
However, key aspects of the future relationship between the 27-nation bloc and its former member remain unresolved.
Johnson had insisted that the UK would “prosper powerfully” even if no agreement was reached and the UK had to negotiate with the EU under the terms of the World Trade Organization. But his government has acknowledged that a chaotic exit would likely lead to blockades in Britain’s ports, temporary shortages of some goods and rising commodity prices.
The EU has long feared that Britain would submit to the bloc’s social, environmental and state aid rules after Brexit, becoming a low-regulation rival at the bloc’s doorstep. Britain denies its intention to introduce weaker rules, but said having to continue to follow EU rules would harm its sovereignty.
Finally, a compromise was reached on the complicated issues of “pair play.” The economically minor, but hugely symbolic, issue of fish became the end point, with EU maritime nations wanting to maintain access to the waters of the UK where they have long fished and Britain insists it has to exercise control as an “independent coastal state.”
The huge gaps in fishing were gradually closing over weeks of intense negotiations in Brussels, although Johnson continued to insist that the exit without an agreement was a likely and satisfactory outcome of nine months of talks on the future relationship. between the EU and its member nation.
It’s been 4 and a half years since the British voted 52% -48% to leave the EU and, in the words of the Brexiteers’ campaign slogan, “regained control” of the UK’s borders and laws. United.
More than three years of fighting passed until Britain left the bloc’s political structures on 31 January. Closely tied economies as part of the EU’s single market for goods and services took even longer.
The UK has continued to be part of the single market and the customs union for a transition period of 11 months after Brexit. As a result, many people so far will have noticed little impact from Brexit.
On January 1, the rupture will begin to be real. The new year will bring big changes, even with a trade deal. Goods and people will no longer be able to move freely between the UK and its mainland neighbors without border restrictions.
EU citizens will no longer be able to live and work in Britain without visas, although this does not apply to the more than 3 million who already do so, and the British can no longer work or retire automatically in the nations. of the EU. Exporters and importers face customs declarations, controls of goods and other obstacles.
The border between the UK and the EU is already shrinking from the new restrictions imposed on travelers from Britain to France and other European countries due to a new variant of the coronavirus crossing London and the south of England. Thousands of trucks were stuck in traffic jams near Dover on Wednesday, waiting for their drivers to be tested for viruses so they could enter the Eurotunnel to France.
British supermarkets say the delay will take days to clean up and there would be a shortage of some fresh produce during the holiday season.
Despite the agreement, there are still unanswered questions on major areas, including security cooperation between the UK and the bloc and access to the EU market for the UK’s huge financial services sector.