BRUSSELS, Dec 25, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Britain and the European Union struck a
trade deal Thursday after 10 months of intense negotiation allowed them to
soften the economic shock of Brexit.
When the UK leaves the EU single market at the New Year it will not now
face tariffs on cross-Channel commerce, despite breaking off half a century
of close partnership.
“We’ve taken back control of our laws and our destiny. We’ve taken back
control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way that is complete,
and unfettered,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was more measured.
“At the end of a successful negotiations journey I normally feel joy. But
today, I only feel quiet satisfaction and, frankly speaking, relief,” she
said, citing British playwright Shakespeare: “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”
But she also showed her steely side, warning that, protected by the deal
from unfair British competition, “The single market will be fair and remain
so.”
And she urged the 440 million Europeans remaining in the 27-nation union to
put the drama of the four years since Britain’s Brexit referendum behind them
and to look to the future.
“I say it is time to leave Brexit behind. Our future is made in Europe,”
she said.
Britain formally left the EU in January after a 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.
– ‘Solid foundations’ –
The final 2,000-page agreement was held up by a last-minute dispute 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 said that although the UK would become a “third country” it
would be a trusted partner.
Johnson — who rode to power pledging to “get Brexit done” — insisted it
was a “good deal for the whole of Europe and for our friends and partners as
well”.
“It will not be a bad thing in my view to have a prosperous, dynamic and
contented UK on your doorstep,” he said from Downing Street.
Leaders around the continent were quick to herald the 11th-hour accord that
heads off the threat of Britain crashing out of the EU after 47 years of
shared history with no follow-on rules.
Irish premier Micheal Martin — whose EU member state would have been hard
hit by a no-deal — said the accord was the “least bad version of Brexit
possible”.
“There is no such thing as a ‘good Brexit’ for Ireland. But we have worked
hard to minimise the negative consequences,” he 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.
For French President Emmanuel Macron — often portrayed as a bogeyman by
the British tabloids — “Europe’s unity and firmness paid off”.
– EU states to ratify –
Following the announcement of the political accord, von der Leyen’s
Commission will send the text to the remaining 27 European member states.
Their ambassadors will meet on Friday, Christmas Day, and 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 on December 30, and with the opposition backing its
implementation is should pass easily.
Assuming the process goes as planned, the negotiating teams will have
agreed the mammoth deal in record time.
But with Britain outside the EU single market and customs area, cross-
Channel traders will still face a battery of new regulations and delays.
Economists expect both economies, already weakened by the coronavirus
epidemic, to take a hit as supply chains are disrupted and costs mount.
Despite this, the threat of a return to tariffs will have been removed, and
relations between the former partners will rest on a surer footing.
All sides will look to put a positive spin on the deal to make it look like
they did not give too much away.
But it will be seen as win by Johnson, as well as a success for von der
Leyen and her chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who led almost 10 months of
intense talks with Britain’s David Frost.
After the shock 2016 referendum, in which British voters narrowly chose to
leave the union, Brexiteers boasted that they could win the “easiest trade
deal in history”.
But European capitals were concerned that if such a large rival on their
doorstep were to deregulate its industry their firms would face unfair
competition.
Brussels insisted the only way to keep the land border between Ireland and
the UK open was to keep Northern Ireland, a British province, within its
customs union.
And members balked at giving up access to Britain’s rich fishing waters,
which support fleets in France, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and the
Netherlands.
It was the question of fish that emerged as the last stumbling block as
late as this week, when member states — led by France — rebuffed UK
demands.
London pushed to reduce EU fishing fleets’ share of the estimated 650-
million-euro annual haul by more than a third, with changes phased in over
three years. The EU was insisting on 25 percent over at least six years.
In the end, the final agreement settled on the EU’s figure but cut the
length of the transition period during which it would be phased in to five-
and-a-half years, an EU official said. After this time access to Britain’s
fishing grounds will be negotiated on an annual basis.
France later on Thursday said it would introduce an aid scheme for French
fishermen dependent on British waters, including up to 30,000 euros in
compensation.