Breakthrough: UK and EU reach post-Brexit trade agreement | World
A young child plays inside of a giant Christmas ornament outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. Talks continued Wednesday in the bid to put a trade deal between the European Union and the United Kingdom, before a Brexit transition period ends on New Year’s Day, with the EU legislature insisting it will not have time to approve a deal.
A member of the British delegation loads a soup cauldron into a van outside the UK Mission to the EU in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. Talks continued Wednesday in the bid to put a trade deal between the European Union and the United Kingdom, before a Brexit transition period ends on New Year’s Day, with the EU legislature insisting it will not have time to approve a deal.
A view of the Christmas tree outside 10 Downing Street in London as people wait for news on Brexit trade talks, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. European Union and British negotiators are closing in on a trade deal with only a disagreement over fishing remaining, After resolving a few remaining fair competition issues, negotiators were dealing with EU fisheries rights in U.K. waters Wednesday as they worked to secure a deal for a post-Brexit relationship after nine months of talks.
European Union flags flutter in the wind amongst Christmas decorations outside of EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. France insisted on Wednesday that European Union negotiators should not yield to any time pressure imposed by the Jan. 1 economic cutoff date in the talks with Britain on a trade agreement in the wake of the Brexit divorce, arguing no deal would be better than a bad one.
El negociador en jefe de Gran Bretaña David Frost parte de la residencia del embajador de su país en Bruselas, el miércoles 23 de diciembre de 2020.
A cleaner sweeps the pavement front of 10 Downing Street in London, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and right into Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year’s Day.
A walks in the rain outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. European Union and British negotiators worked through the night and into Christmas Eve in the hopes of putting the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year’s Day.
European Union flags flutter in the breeze outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. European Union and British negotiators worked through the night and into Christmas Eve in the hopes of putting the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year’s Day.
Smoke rises from a chimney behind EU flags fluttering in the wind outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. European Union and British negotiators worked through the night and into Christmas Eve in the hopes of putting the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year’s Day.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives to address a media conference on Brexit negotiations at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020.
FILE – In this Thursday, June 16, 2016, dairy farmer Robert Warnock, who plans to vote this week for Britain to leave the EU, stands with his Holstein Friesian cattle as they are milked in a milking parlour on Capel Church Farm, in the village of Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, south east England. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year chaos for cross-border traders and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.
FILE – In this Monday, March 2, 2020 file photo, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, right, speaks with Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost prior to the start of the first round of post -Brexit trade talks between the EU and the UK, at EU headquarters in Brussels. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year chaos for cross-border traders and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen prepares to address a media conference on Brexit negotiations at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020.
FILE – In this Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019 file photo, French custom officers observe trucks on their way to Great Britain, during a test in case of a no deal Brexit, at the exit of the Channel tunnel in Calais, northern France. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year chaos for cross-border traders and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.
A man walks in the rain outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. European Union and British negotiators worked through the night and into Christmas Eve in the hopes of putting the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year’s Day.
A woman talks to a flower seller outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. European Union and British negotiators worked through the night and into Christmas Eve in the hopes of putting the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year’s Day.
Police speak to anti-Brexit protestor Steve Bray, at the gates of Downing Street, London, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and into Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides next week. Trade will change regardless come Jan. 1, when the U.K. leaves the bloc’s single market and customs union.
Anti-Brexit protester Steve Bray shouts through an over-sized loud hailer at the gates of Downing Street, London, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and into Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides next week. Trade will change regardless come Jan. 1, when the U.K. leaves the bloc’s single market and customs union.
FILE – In this Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020 file photo, a man unfurls a Union and EU flag outside the European Parliament in Brussels. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year chaos for cross-border traders and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.
FILE – In this Wednesday, March 29, 2017 file photo, EU Council President Donald Tusk, right, receives British Prime Minister Theresa May’s formal notice to leave the bloc, under Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, from UK Permanent Representative to the EU Tim Barrow in Brussels. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year chaos for cross-border traders and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. The breakthrough on Thursday came after months of tense and often testy negotiations that whittled differences down to three key issues: fair-competition rules, mechanisms for resolving future disputes and fishing rights.
European Commission’s Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier, right, speaks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after addressing a media conference on Brexit negotiations at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and European Commission’s Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier address a media conference on Brexit negotiations at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. The breakthrough on Thursday came after months of tense and often testy negotiations that whittled differences down to three key issues: fair-competition rules, mechanisms for resolving future disputes and fishing rights.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. The breakthrough on Thursday came after months of tense and often testy negotiations that whittled differences down to three key issues: fair-competition rules, mechanisms for resolving future disputes and fishing rights.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and European Commission’s Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier address a media conference on Brexit negotiations at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen puts on her protective face mask after addressing a media conference on Brexit negotiations at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses a media conference on Brexit negotiations at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. The breakthrough on Thursday came after months of tense and often testy negotiations that whittled differences down to three key issues: fair-competition rules, mechanisms for resolving future disputes and fishing rights.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Just a week before the deadline, Britain and the European Union struck a free-trade deal Thursday that should avert economic chaos on New Year’s and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.
Once ratified by both sides, the agreement will ensure Britain and the 27-nation bloc can continue to trade in goods without tariffs or quotas after the U.K. breaks fully free of the EU on Jan. 1.
Relief was palpable all around that nine months of tense and often testy negotiations had finally produced a positive result.
The Christmas Eve breakthrough was doubly welcome amid a coronavirus pandemic that has left some 70,000 people in Britain dead and led the country’s neighbors to shut their borders to the U.K. over a new and seemingly more contagious variant of the virus circulating in England.
“We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny,” declared British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who posted a picture of himself on social media, beaming with thumbs up.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “It was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it.”
“It is fair, it is a balanced deal, and it is the right and responsible thing to do for both sides,” she said in Brussels.
