Relief in UK following post-Brexit deal | …

From LondonReached on December 24 during the reduction period, the post-Brexit deal between the European Union (EU) and the UK brought more relief than euphoria and it produced a reaction of boredom and indifference in a population worried about this second and third wave of coronavirus which is ravaging Europe. Boris Johnson’s government stamped him epic rhetoric to compensate with “wonderful Christmas news”. its disastrous handling of the pandemic while the EU has chosen a more sober tone, stressing that the agreement closes more doors than it opens for the bilateral relationship.

The letter of the agreement

The deal is 1,246 pages long and ends over four years of negotiation after the British referendum in favor of leaving the European Union in 2016. With more than 800 pages of annexes and notes, it requires the approval of the British Parliament and the 27 European countries to enter into force on January 1st. In general, this will be the new framework of the relationship:

UK leaves European common market and customs union

· There will be no tariff barriers or quotas for bilateral merchandise trade, but there will be sanitary, phytosanitary and regulatory controls that will require a mountain of paperwork and requirements for export and import.

· The services sector will lose direct access, which is particularly difficult for the UK financial sector.

· Fishing will be governed by a special regime.

· The only land border between the two parties, that which connects the Republic of Ireland (European Union) to Northern Ireland (United Kingdom), will also have a special regime..

In a euphoric tone, Boris Johnson celebrated the deal which he said would allow the UK to regain its sovereignty as voted in the 2016 referendum. “It’s a moment of great joy because we have an agreement that will give certainties to businessmen and women. investors starting Jan. 1, ”Johnson said.

The EU’s assessment was much more measured. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen He urged “to turn the page and look to the future”. But in its document “EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: A New Relationship with Big Changes”, the committee underlined the profound changes that the relationship will undergo.

In a clear warning to any other bloc member attempting to follow the UK path, the document highlights the impact ending the free movement of goods, people and services between the UK and the EU will have . Border controls, increased business operating costs and visas will be some of the consequences of the British exit from the bloc. The traffic jam in the port of Dover will be the new postcard of a more hazardous and unpredictable relationship. Oddly, in the UK government’s own assessment, PostBrexit, far from being the promised land, will have a bigger impact on the economy and jobs than Covid. According to the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), GDP will fall by 4% middle term. For now, the UK fishing industry has been screaming to the heavens for the impact it will have on this sector which had negotiations pending. “The agreement is not even close to what corresponds to us in international law. So there is a lot of frustration and anger in the industry, ”said National Fishermen’s Federation CEO Barrie Deas. The agreement contemplates special mechanisms for cases of non-compliance by the parties if there is an attempt to gain competitive advantages by lowering labor, environmental and climate change standards. This part of the deal was essential for the EU, which dreads the plan Boris Johnson himself announced over a year ago: the creation of a “Singapore on the Thames” to compete with the European bloc by lowering taxes and regulations. In order to avoid this “unfair competition”, parts of the agreement may be suspended or tariffs reintroduced within 20 to 30 days.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen quoted the poet TS Elliot: “To make an end is to make a beginning”. The approval that the British Parliament and European governments must give this week should be the “end”: the last cathartic act of both sides.

Strong rebellions are expected in UK for Wednesday’s vote both Conservatives and Labor, but with a comfortable parliamentary majority of 80 MPs Boris Johnson should have no problem passing it. Something else, the deal ends Britain’s adversarial relationship with the continent and the polarization that divided the UK between pro and anti-Europeans.