“The deal is done,” a Downing Street statement read. “Everything that was promised to the British public during the 2016 referendum and last year’s general election is delivered through this agreement.”
Talks had been stalled for months after the two sides could not reach an agreement on areas such as fishing quotas, as the UK would use state aid to support British companies after Brexit and legal oversight. of any agreement.
The agreement is unlikely to be formally ratified before the end of the Brexit transition, as it has yet to go through a series of legal circles.
EU leaders, the European Parliament and the UK government will have to approve the deal on their own.
The legal text of the agreement will first be translated, revised and approved by the 27 EU member states.
Once all member states have given their signatures, they will return to the European Parliament, where members of the European Parliament will vote to ratify the agreement.
But the European Parliament has said it is too late to hold an emergency voting session before the end of the transition period on 31 December.
Instead, they plan to implement the EU-UK agreement “provisionally”, with MEPs formally meeting again to ratify the agreement in the new year.
In the meantime, there will also likely be a vote in the British parliament to legalize the deal.
While trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval, British lawmakers are expected to likely return from the Christmas holidays to debate and approve it.
It can take up to 48 hours for Parliament to reconvene, but it is known to move very quickly when it needs to.
While the deal marks a significant milestone in the four-and-a-half years since the UK voted to leave the EU, it is unlikely to end the years of toxic political debate in the UK.
Eurosceptic lawmakers are already organizing efforts to ensure that an agreement leaves no room for the UK to return to the EU’s orbit. Pro-Europeans, meanwhile, will hope that at some point in the future, the UK, perhaps under new leadership, can strengthen ties with Brussels.
This is a developing story …