The long and sometimes bitter divorce between Britain and the European Union ended on Thursday with an economic rift that leaves the EU smaller and the UK freer, but more isolated in a turbulent world.
Britain left the vast European single market at 11pm, London time, or midnight in Brussels, thus completing the largest individual economic change the country has experienced since World War II. A new trade deal between the UK and the EU will bring its own restrictions and bureaucracy, but for British Brexit supporters, the new deal means regaining national independence.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, support for Brexit helped pull the country out of the EU, said it was “an incredible time for that country”.
“We have our freedom in our hands, and it’s up to us to make the most of it,” he said in a New Year’s Eve video message.
The breakup comes 11 months after a political Brexit that left both limbo on the sidelines with a “transition period,” like a separated couple still living together, arguing and wondering if they can still be friends. Now the UK has finally moved.
It was a day that some had been longing for and others had feared since Britain approved in a 2016 referendum to leave the EU, but had little climax. UK closure measures to curb coronavirus contagion reduced mass rallies to celebrate or mourn the moment, although Parliament’s huge bell, Big Ben, rang 11 times an hour as it prepared to ring. in the new year at midnight.
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A free trade agreement sealed on Christmas Eve after months of tense negotiations ensures Britain and the 27 EU nations can continue to buy and sell goods without tariffs or quotas. This should help protect the 660 billion pounds ($ 894 billion) of annual trade between the two sides, and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that depend on it.
But companies face a lot of new costs and paperwork, including customs declarations and border controls. Traders are struggling to assimilate the new rules imposed by a 1,200-page trade deal that was agreed to just a week before the split.
The port of Dover on the English Channel and the Eurotunnel passenger and freight route were preparing for the delays that the new measures would generate, although the coronavirus pandemic and a festive weekend meant that traffic through of the English Channel was light, and that only a few trucks arrived at the border posts of Calais, France, at the end of 2020. the vital supply route became a bad step for days after France closed its bordered UK truckers for 48 hours last week in response to the presence of a new variant of the coronavirus identified in England.
The British government has insisted that “the border systems and infrastructure we need are in place, and we are ready for the new UK start”.
But the transport companies were holding their breath. Youngs Transportation, in the UK, suspended services in the EU until January 11 “to let things settle”.
“We estimate it gives the country a week or so to get used to all these new entry and exit systems, and we can take a look and hope to resolve any issues before we actually ship our trucks,” he said. director of the company, Rob Hollyman.
The services sector, which makes up 80% of the UK economy, does not even know what the rules will be for doing business with the EU in 2021, as many of the details have not yet been finalized. Months and years of discussions and discussions on any number of issues are approaching, from fair competition to fishing quotas, as Britain and the EU settle into their new relationship as friends, neighbors. and rivals.
Hundreds of millions of people in Britain and the blog are also facing changes in their daily lives. The British and EU citizens have lost the automatic right to live and work in each other’s territory. From now on, they will have to follow immigration rules and obtain work visas. Tourists will not need visas for short trips, but new headaches – from travel insurance to pet paperwork – hover over the British visiting the mainland.