Britain signs trade deal with EU as Brexit finally begins

New trade deals between the EU and the UK will enter into force at midnight after the signing of a post-Brexit deal by the UK Parliament.

Although the European Parliament has started its scrutiny of the 1,246-page document – which enjoys the support of the 27 EU member states – Brussels will not have the chance to formally ratify the deal until the start of the new year .

British MPs, however, were recalled from their Christmas holidays on Wednesday for an emergency one-day session to approve the measure, which ensures that Britain and the EU can continue to trade goods after the 1st January without customs duties or quotas.

At 12:25 p.m. Thursday morning, the Queen had given royal assent to the UK-EU bill, cementing it into UK law.

Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, the heads of the European Commission and the European Council, were the first to sign the trade and cooperation agreement before it was sent to London.

Michel said the European Union had shown an “unprecedented level of unity” during months of intense negotiations to reach the deal, which comes four and a half years after the UK vote in in favor of leaving the EU in a referendum.

“This is a fair and balanced agreement which fully protects the fundamental interests of the European Union and creates stability and predictability for citizens and businesses.”

Following a frantic 2 p.m. parliamentary process in London, in which a bill adapted from the trade deal was drafted, voted on and enacted, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has declared the fate of the UK was not in his own hands.

“We take on this duty with a sense of purpose and with the interests of the British public at the heart of everything we do,” he said.

The deal avoids a so-called ‘hard Brexit’ that would have seen quotas and tariffs slapped on all cross-Channel trade from 11 p.m. GMT (midnight Brussels), exacerbating tensions amid the coronavirus pandemic.