London: The deal is done, Downing Street in London and European Union (EU) officials in Brussels confirmed on Thursday as both sides managed to thrash out a post-Brexit free trade agreement (FTA) just days before the December 31 deadline.
Thousands of pages of legal text accompanies the deal, with details of the agreement set to emerge in the course of the next few days, including the final ratification of the FTA by Parliaments on both sides.
“We have got Brexit done and we can now take full advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation, striking trade deals with other partners around the world,” Downing Street said in a statement.
“We have signed the first free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and zero quotas that has ever been achieved with the EU. The deal is the biggest bilateral trade deal signed by either side, covering trade worth GBP 668 billion in 2019,” it said, adding that the UK has taken back control of its “money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters”.
“The deal also guarantees that we are no longer in the lunar pull of the EU, we are not bound by EU rules, there is no role for the European Court of Justice and all of our key red lines about returning sovereignty have been achieved. It means that we will have full political and economic independence on 1st January 2021,” Downing Street declared.
On the other side, the EU said it has a good deal to show for the “long and winding road”. “We have finally got a deal, a fair and responsible deal,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference from Brussels.
“The EU rules and standards will be respected… The United Kingdom is a long-standing partner,” she said, adding that while “parting was such sweet sorrow” it was time to look to the future, as the UK is now classified as a “third country” in relation to the economic bloc.
