Brexit: the key points of the agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom

The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom finally reached an agreement on the terms of their future relationship to avoid a “hard Brexit” on December 31, when the British are no longer part of the community club.

The pact concluded last Thursday in Brussels will ultimately be less ambitious than the EU wanted, but allow a business relationship without quotas or tariffs provided that London adopts equal competition rules and other safeguards. Moreover, it is not automatically applicable to the territory of Gibraltar, whose relationship with the bloc is negotiated in parallel.

Key points of the agreement. Trade:

The agreement reached “goes beyond the recent free trade agreements of the EU with third countries, such as Canada or Japan”, underlined the European Commission in an explanatory document, because does not establish tariffs and fees between the two parties for all goods. This is particularly important for “sensitive” products, such as agricultural or fishery products.

The goods must respect the “rules of origin”, which aim to prevent products from third countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the EU from entering the bloc via the UK to avoid tariffs and quotas.

The agreement too allows a simplification of customs procedures even if, as the UK has left the Customs Union, controls will apply to all traded goods.

As far as financial services are concerned, the agreement does not cover this chapter, so the City of London loses the passport that allows it to operate throughout the EU with privileged access.

Travel

Around 210 million passengers and 230 million tonnes of freight are transported between the EU and the UK each year. The agreement between the EU and the UK will ensure the continuity of air, road and sea connectivity.

In aerial matters, UK airlines will no longer be able to operate intra-European commercial flights although they can maintain the routes that connect the UK with destinations in the EU.

In addition, as the European Commission points out, the pact includes provisions aimed at ensuring that competition between operators of the two parties guarantees “high levels of “transport safety, workers’ and passenger rights and environmental protection.

As for citizens, it will be up to the UK to determine whether EU citizens visiting the country for short stays will need to obtain a visa.

Short-term travelers from the UK can visit the block for 90 days out of any 180-day period, according to the UK government. Tourists will continue to be covered by a mutual health insurance fund in the event of an emergency.

Peach

Fisheries, a crucial issue during the negotiation, has become one of the biggest stumbling blocks in reaching an agreement. During a five-and-a-half-year transition period, until June 2026, the EU will “transfer 25% of the value of the catch”, and then the parties will set fishing opportunities in annual negotiations.

Environmental and labor standards

Neither party is bound by the other’s rules to impose environmental or social standards, but both agree to respect the general principles of equal opportunities.

If one party feels the other has an advantage by undermining the rules, it can appeal to an independent arbitration panel. In the specific case of workers, the UK government details that both parties have agreed not to lower labor standards to protect them “in a way that affects trade”.

Subsidies

The two trading partners will have their separate rules on subsidies, but if one of the parties considers that these distort or harm its own industries, it can challenge these measures before an independent arbitration mechanism, with the possibility of imposing compensation.

It was a crucial point for the EU, that he feared that the UK’s free access to the EU market would undermine competition if strict rules were not imposed on subsidies.

North Ireland

In order to avoid a hard border with EU member Ireland, Northern Ireland will remain aligned with many EU rules when it exits the single market and customs union with the rest of the world. United Kingdom.

This compromise eliminates the need for many checks at the Irish border and was developed long before the trade agreement. According to the DPA, most Northern Irish politicians welcomed the deal, but said they would need time to study it and assess all of its ramifications.

The new relational framework also lays the foundations cooperation on issues of common interest such as security, the fight against climate change or energy. Although the agreement is long – the legal text spans over 1,240 pages – some parts have been left out. The UK will not participate in the Erasmus student exchange program and no framework for foreign policy or defense cooperation has been agreed.

The future

The announcement of the deal comes just a week after the UK left the common market and customs union for good, but It will still have to be considered by the Member States and will have to be approved by the plenary session of the European Parliament to enter into force.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier met with EU 27 ambassadors on Friday to brief them on details of the deal which it will have to be adopted by written procedure by the Member States.

Community sources have underlined that the Community executive considers this pact as an exclusive competence of the European Union, with few elements of national competence, which will accelerate its ratification because it will not have to be ratified by each national parliament. and the approval of the European Parliament will suffice. .

This Monday, the Euro-parliamentary committee monitoring negotiations with the United Kingdom will meet in an extraordinary manner to assess the situation with Barnier and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.