London: The UK and the European Union have reached a post-Brexit trade deal, after months of disagreements over fishing rights and future business rules.
“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 31 December, 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. In its statement, Downing Street said: “Everything that the British public was promised during the 2016 referendum and in the general election last year is delivered by this deal. We have taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters.”
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.
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.
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 British Parliament will also have to interrupt its end of year holidays to vote on the deal before the 31 December 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.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS