UK finally reaches Brexit deal with EU after four years and six months
Britain was set to leave without a deal on December 31.
Britain and the EU have finally reached an agreement on a Brexit trade deal after years of wrangling.
The move comes just days before the transition period ends on December 31 and means avoiding the ‘nightmare’ no-deal scenario countless businesses and experts have warned against.
The Government and the EU have been suggesting for weeks that no deal was the most likely outcome, with particular tensions around fishing. That was said to be the only outstanding issue on Thursday morning, after a few remaining ‘level playing field’ issues were resolved by negotiators, who worked through the night fuelled by late deliveries of pizzas.
The deal comes more than four years after the UK voted to leave the European Union in a June 2016 referendum and follows weeks of missed deadlines and apparent breakdowns in the talks.
British businesses will now be scrambling to work out what the deal means for them, with many forced to close because of coronavirus restrictions and only three working days left before the new year.
In recent days, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have been increasingly drawn into the negotiations, speaking on the phone on numerous occasions in an effort to unblock negotiations.
The PM told the nation this afternoon that a ‘Canada style’ deal had been agreed as he declared victory for Britain.
Boris Johnson said that for the first time since 1973 the UK ‘will be an
independent coastal state with full control of our waters’, with the UK’s share
of fish in its waters rising ‘substantially from roughly half today to closer
to two-thirds in five-and-a-half years’ time’.
Downing Street had earlier insisted that ‘everything that the British public was promised during the 2016 referendum and in the general election last year is delivered by this deal’.
The statement added: ‘We have taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters.
‘The deal is fantastic news for families and businesses in every part of the UK.’
But both sides claimed to have won more concessions as Mrs von der Leyen labelled the deal ‘fair and balanced’, while Mr Johnson tweeted a picture of himself with his thumbs aloft saying ‘a deal is done’ .
She said: ‘It was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it.
Downing Street statement in full
‘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.
‘The deal is fantastic news for families and businesses in every part of the UK. We have signed the first free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and zero quotas that has ever been achieved with the EU
‘The deal is the biggest bilateral trade deal signed by either side, covering trade worth £668bn in 2019.
‘The deal also guarantees that we are no longer in the lunar pull of the EU, we are not bound by EU rules, there is no role for the European Court of Justice and all of our key red lines about returning sovereignty have been achieved. It means that we will have full political and economic independence on January 1 2021.
‘A points-based immigration system will put us in full control of who enters the UK and free movement will end.
‘We have delivered this great deal for the entire United Kingdom in record time, and under extremely challenging conditions, which protects the integrity of our internal market and Northern Ireland’s place within it.
‘We have got Brexit done and we can now take full advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation, striking trade deals with other partners around the world.’
‘It is fair, it is a balanced deal, and it is the right and responsible thing to do for both sides.’
Chief negotiator Michel Barnier said: ‘The clock is no longer ticking. After four years of collective effort and EU unity to preserve peace and stability on the island of Ireland, to protect the citizens and the single market, to build a new partnership with the UK.’
But he expressed regret about British students no longer being able to access the Erasmus programme, in a major blow to those hoping to study abroad as part of their course.
The European Commission also released a checklist of things Britons and the country will be unable to do, compared with what it did have before Brexit – including needing visas for more than 90 days in European continents, roaming data charges and no more ‘pet passports’.
Guy Verhofstadt, who served as chief Brexit co-ordinator for the European Parliament, also welcomed the deal but said it was ‘less ambitious than we wanted’.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron, who originally called the referendum, said a deal was ‘very welcome’ and congratulated the British negotiating team. His successor Theresa May shared similar thoughts on Twitter, as leaders from across the continent and the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, expressed relief that a deal had been reached.
But despite the agreement, customs checks and some other barriers are still expected on January 1.
It comes as lorries backed up around Dover this week amid fears around a mutant strain of coronavirus – in scenes many claimed could be repeated without an agreement.
A trade deal is expected to avoid tariffs and duties that could cost both sides hundreds of thousands of jobs.
European and British businesses have long warned of dramatic economic consequences if a deal was not reached.
The Office for Budget Responsibility had forecast that a no-deal Brexit could wipe 2% off the British economy in 2021, adding to the damage caused by the Covid-19 crisis.
But the details of the deal will now be closely examined to see where each side has compromised.
Despite having to consider a 2,000 page document in under a week during the festive period, MPs are expected to pass any deal through Parliament. Labour is not expected to oppose it after leader Sir Keir Starmer stressed that an agreement with the EU would be in the national interest.
A deal also has to be backed by the EU’s 27 member states.
MPs are set to be recalled to vote on a deal on January 30, but the European Parliament has said they will not have time to ratify a deal before January 1 – meaning the agreement is likely to be provisional.
Brexit deal agreed: Everything you need to know
Boris Johnson has confirmed the UK has finally secured a post-trade Brexit deal with the European Union after more than four years of negotiations.
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The pound and the FTSE 100 had already risen on the morning of Christmas Eve amid reports of an imminent deal.
Britain withdrew from the EU on January 31 and entered an economic transition period expires which was set to run out at the end of 2020.
A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘Since the election, the Labour Party has urged the Government and the EU to secure a trade deal because that is in the national interest.
‘We will be setting out our formal response to the deal in due course.’
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