After months of tough negotiations, Britain clinched a Brexit trade deal with the European Union on Thursday, just seven days before it exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire.
“Deal is done…”We have taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters,” a Downing Street source said, reports agencies.
“The deal is fantastic news for families and businesses in every part of the UK. We have signed the first free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and zero quotas that has ever been achieved with the EU,” the source said.
“We have delivered this great deal for the entire United Kingdom in record time, and under extremely challenging conditions, which protects the integrity of our internal market and Northern Ireland’s place within it,” the source said.
The deal guarantees Britain is no longer in the lunar pull of the EU and will not be bound by EU rules, the source said.
“There is no role for the European Court of Justice and all of our key red lines about returning sovereignty have been achieved,” the source said.
The deal is “the biggest bilateral trade deal signed by either side, covering trade worth €747 billion (£668 billion, $909 billion) in 2019,” according to the source. The text of
the deal, said to be made up of around 2,000 pages, has yet to be released.
The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted an image of himself in Downing Street in front of a British flag with the text: “The deal is done.”
What did EU leaders say?
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference that the two sides “finally” reached a deal.
“It was a long and winding road, but we have a good deal to show for it,” she said on Thursday.
She added that the UK and the EU will continue cooperating on areas of mutual interest, naming climate, energy, security, and transport.
“I believe, also, that this agreement is in the United Kingdom’s interest. It will set solid foundations for a new start with a long-term friend. And it means that we can finally put Brexit behind us, and Europe is continuing to move forward,” she added.
Von der Leyen said she felt “relief” after long and exhausting negotiations. She added that “parting is such sweet sorrow” – a line from the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet.
She quoted the American-British poet T.S Eliot: “What we call the beginning is often the end and to make an end is often the beginning.”
“It is time to leave Brexit behind, our future is made in Europe,” she said in closing.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator said “the clock is no longer ticking” – a reversal of his warning in August after a round of trade talks left the two sides exasperated.
He said the EU will support fishermen. Fisheries had been a key sticking point throughout Brexit talks.
He said he regrets that the UK had chosen not to participate in the Erasmus program student exchange program. He also said the agreement reached on free movement was not a sign of historically close ties.
What did the UK say?
Johnson called the deal a “comprehensive Canada-style deal.” He recast Britain as “an independent coastal state.”
“We’ve taken back control of our laws and our destiny” said Johnson, adding that the UK would now be”unfettered.”
“It will not be a bad thing” for the EU to have “a prosperous dynamic and contented UK on your doorstep,” Johnson said.
Crucially, the UK will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, stressed the UK leader.
Both business leaders and the general public as a whole will breathe a sigh of relief after concerns that a No Deal scenario would have ruptured historically close trade ties.
