Brexit agreement moves smoothly towards implementation on 1st January

The formal process to provisionally apply the agreement for the future relationship between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom from 1st January is progressing smoothly and was approved by the ambassadors in Brussels of the 27 on Monday.

The heads of the Community diplomatic delegations, who had already discussed the text on Christmas Day, on Monday approved "unanimously the provisional application of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom from 1 January 2021", announced the spokesman for the German Presidency of the EU Council, Sebastian Fischer, on Twitter.

The EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, and the President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula Von der Leyen, then held a virtual explanatory meeting with the President of the European Parliament (EP), David Sassoli, and the leaders of the EP groups.

Since the weekend, the capitals and their experts based in Brussels have been analysing the 1,246 pages of the agreement (plus annexes and explanatory notes), which was reached on Christmas Eve and must be approved by written procedure before 3 p.m. tomorrow (2 p.m. GMT).

Once the written adoption has been finalised, the Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom can be signed.

Although the date and format has not yet been decided, European sources explained to Efe, the event is expected to take place on 30 December with the participation of President Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and should be published in the Official Journal of the European Union the following day.

In the meantime, for the agreement to be effective, it will have to be approved by the House of Commons in an urgent and telematic vote called for 30 December by the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

This should be a mere formality for Boris Johnson, who has an absolute majority in the House of Commons, and has the support of his Conservative party and, furthermore, that of the Labour opposition, although there is some uncertainty as to whether the more Eurosceptic faction of the "Tories" will join the yes or no vote.

If all these formal procedures run smoothly, the agreement will be applied provisionally from 1 January to 28 February pending formal ratification.

The European Parliament will now also have to examine the text as it must give its assent to the agreement. Although it has no possibility of making amendments, it retains the power to veto the entire pact. It can only say "yes" or "no".

In a statement after the last meeting, the leaders of the political groups stressed that they accept that the agreement should be applied provisionally in order to "mitigate disruption for citizens and businesses and avoid the chaos of a non-agreement scenario", but insist that this "does not constitute a precedent" for future cases where he has to give his consent.

MEPs want to ratify the agreement at their plenary session in the second week of March and will therefore discuss with the Commission and the Council Presidency whether the period of provisional application can be slightly extended.

The committees responsible will now "carefully examine" the text and prepare their decision which will be "discussed and adopted in plenary in due course and before the end of the provisional application", they said in the press release.

As a final step on the EU side, the Council must take the final decision on the entry into force of the agreement.

Another pending step is the translation of the agreement into all Community languages, which the Commission hopes will be available in the coming days.

"We look forward to formally ratifying the agreement and working together on shared priorities, such as climate change", said the British Prime Minister on Twitter after speaking by telephone with the President of the European Council, stressing that the agreement is "a new departure in our relationship, between sovereign equals".

The provisional application of the agreement will avoid major disruptions on either side of the Channel.

However, although there will be no quotas or tariffs on trade between the two blocks, the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union will be significantly altered: customs and controls will return, freedom of movement will end, British participation in the Erasmus programme will come to an end, and the obligation to provide free roaming, among other things, will come to an end.

"The United Kingdom has decided to leave the European Union and the single market, to give up the rights and benefits of a Member State. Our agreement does not replicate those rights and benefits. It establishes a new partnership, which we want to be fair and equitable", said Barnier last Thursday when presenting the pact between Brussels and London.