With only one week left before the end of the transition period for Britain to leave the European Union on December 31, the UK and the European Union have been negotiating all night to finalize the historic Brexit trade agreement on the eve of Christmas. The British government issued a statement announcing that, as of this step, the British government has finally completed the 2016 EU referendum and last year’s general election promises to the public, and that the UK will be completely free politically and economically from January 2021. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also tweeted a photo in which he held up his hands with thumbs up, happily announcing that “a deal has been reached”.
Johnson later held a press conference where he stressed that this is the “biggest trade deal” reached with the European Union so far, fulfilling the government’s promise to its citizens during the 2016 referendum on Brexit and allowing the UK to take back control of laws, borders and fishing waters. Speaking at a press conference, Johnson said, “I am delighted to tell you this afternoon that we have reached the biggest trade deal ever, worth £660 billion a year. This is a comprehensive Canadian-style free trade agreement between the UK and the EU.
Johnson said that the agreement did not achieve the regulatory equivalence he had hoped for in financial services, but still contained some “good words” that would allow the dynamic city of London to continue to prosper. He went on to say that the agreement brings “new stability and certainty. We will be your friends, your allies, your supporters, and we must not forget that we are your biggest market,” he shouted to the EU. He expects the agreement will enable the UK to maintain a stable relationship with the EU
British-European negotiations since the 21st have focused on fisheries issues, the British side seeks to significantly reduce the amount of fish caught by the EU to British waters, from today’s annual total value of about 650 million euros, divided into three years to reduce the EU 1/3 of the amount of fishing; while France, Denmark and the Netherlands are under pressure to reduce only 25% in the next six years at least. French government sources revealed that the British side has made “significant concessions” on key fisheries differences. However, some EU member states, particularly France, still want the European Commission to give the UK special guarantees on certain commitments in the deal, sources said.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU Executive Committee, expressed her views on the agreement in English, French and German in turn at a press conference on the 23rd, saying that after a long and winding road, a fair and balanced agreement has finally been reached. The EU and the UK have the same interests and will be shoulder-to-shoulder long-term allies. She also said at the press conference that she was relieved that the issue of Brexit could now be left behind and that Europe would continue to move forward with an eye to the future.
The UK held a referendum on June 24, 2016 to leave the EU, 51.9% of the public chose to leave the EU, since the start of Brexit in 2017, in January this year after the formal separation from the EU member states, continued to negotiate trade agreements with the EU, after about 10 months of negotiations, has made progress in fair competition, regulation and the most important fishing rights consultation, and reached this historic agreement on the 24th, the agreement covers The agreement covers trade in goods and services, and covers a wide range of other areas, such as investment, competition rules, state aid, taxation, air and road transport, energy, fisheries, data protection, etc. The two sides still need to pass the agreement in their respective parliaments before the end of the Brexit transition period on the 31st.
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