Brexit: The keys to the controversial divorce agreement between London and Brussels



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United Kingdom- Britain and its premier, Theresa May, experienced a stormy political day on Thursday.

In fact, after May Day, the government announced on Wednesday night that its government had given the green light to the draft Brexit agreement with the European Union.

The agreement, of more than 500 pages, establishes a transitional period in the relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union when the "divorce" will materialize on March 29, 2019.

But the most radical supporters of the abandonment of the European bloc did not like the conditions agreed in May and in Brussels.

Thus, two members of the Cabinet of Ministers and other senior officials resigned because they had rejected a proposal that still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and the British Parliament.

In an attempt to convince the deputies, May was confronted with three hours of questions in the lower house, most of the time hostile, both by the Labor opposition and its conservative supporters.

"The British people want us to do it," May told the parliament referring to the 2016 referendum, in which the EU's exit was approved at 51.9 percent, up from 48.1 percent.

The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, announced Thursday that the remaining 27 members of the European Union were convened for an emergency meeting on 25 November to "finalize and formalize" this agreement.

If that happens, the British Parliament will have to vote in December.

What does the principle of agreement say?

The project is not a trade agreement with the EU, but includes terms in which the UK would pull out of this supranational entity next March. According to the document, the next day would begin a 21-month transition period during which the final agreement would be negotiated.

In the event of non-fulfillment, the transition period may be extended only once, provided that both parties request it by July 2020 at the latest.

European citizens who arrive in the United Kingdom before the end of the transition period (December 2020) can remain in the country and, if they stay for five years, they can continue to do so permanently. The same rules will apply to the British in the EU countries.

One of the most controversial points was the border between Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) and the Republic of Ireland, London and Dublin wanting to avoid having a visible barrier with checkpoints and customs in this region. limit of 500 kilometers long.

Both governments felt that this would jeopardize the peace process that puts an end to decades of violence when the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the armed organization that supported the separation of this British region, was active.

Therefore, the project includes a backstop clause, a kind of safety net that would be activated if no final agreement is reached. The clause would prevent these territories from having this palpable border, but would force the entire United Kingdom to remain in what the document calls "a single customs territory".

This means that there would be no customs charges between London and the EU. But also if the British want to impose their own taxes on imports from non-EU countries, they can not be more expensive than those imposed by the EU on these countries. In addition, products must comply with European quality control regulations, for example.

At this point, two positions have been found. On one side, there are Brexit supporters, who do not like the idea of ​​being tied to EU customs regulations.

On the other hand, there are Conservative MPs from the Northern Ireland DUP, allies May can not do without and who do not want Northern Ireland to have a different regime than from the rest of the UK.

To all this is added "the financial agreement" under which the British will have to pay the equivalent of an amount between 39,000 and 44,000 million US dollars for obligations contracted before the exit of the block.

The proposed agreement also proposes the protection of 3,000 "geographical denominations" of products, among which include Parma ham, feta cheese, champagne and lamb from Wales (Welsh), among others .

Following?

At the end of November, an EU meeting should be held to approve the document. But after that, May must face what could be the battle of her life: to ensure that the British Parliament approves the final agreement.

There are parliamentarians who are skeptical or openly opposed to Brexit and others who are in favor of leaving the EU without agreement if it does not meet British demands, which could hinder its approval.

If May fails to get a favorable vote, the UK will enter uncertain territory.

Why do we still not know how to hold the Brexit more than a year and a half from the referendum that decided the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union?

Among his options, one could consider a renegotiation with the EU, postpone the date of entry into force of Brexit or even hold a new referendum, which May has regularly dismissed.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labor opposition party, said that the agreement was against the national interest because "it does not meet the needs of all regions of the Kingdom -United".

In the conservative ruling party, there are also critical voices. Some parliamentarians are angry because they believe that the deal leaves the UK tied to the EU.

Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg called the document "a bad deal", which would leave the UK under the EU's customs regime and "divide" the country.

Nicola Sturgeon, Prime Minister of Scotland, also criticized the proposed agreement.

"This proposed deal will be bad for Scotland, it will take us out of a market eight times larger than the UK and pose a great threat to jobs, investments and quality of life. life."

The "divorce" of the EU and the UK is scheduled for March 2019.

For its part, Guy Verhofstadt, one of the Brexit negotiators in the European Parliament, said the agreement will provide "civil rights protection and avoid a tough border with Ireland".

"I hope that Britain will come back one day, but for now, this agreement will make Brexit possible while maintaining close relations," Verhofstadt said in a statement.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he was "very happy" and said that "it was a good result".

And Juha Sipila, Finnish Prime Minister, said in a tweet that "both parties have yet to make decisions to reach a final agreement".

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