Ambassadors from the 27 remaining member states have unanimously approved the provisional post-Brexit free trade deal with the United Kingdom, bringing to an end months of drawn-out negotiations.
The agreement, hammered out by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, will be applied on a provisional basis for nowImage: Olivier Hoslet/AP Photo/picture alliance
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After nearly 10 months of lengthy negotiations, EU ambassadors on Monday formally began the process of approving a post-Brexit free trade deal with the UK.
The envoys gave unanimous approval to the agreement at a meeting in Brussels. It means the deal can provisionally go into effect after the UK leaves the single market on January 1 and avoid disruption to cross-Channel trade.
"We are happy and relieved that we got a deal," one EU diplomat present at the meeting told DW. "But the timeframes to implement this are tight."
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced that the talks had reached a successful conclusion the previous day.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stepped in to broker a compromise over fisheries.Image: Francisco Seco/REUTERS
What are the positions of individual governments?
EU governments held cabinet meetings earlier on Monday to agree their final position on the text ahead of the meeting.
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Germany's cabinet gave their approval after Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that she was "very confident that we have a good result."
France had threatened to veto the deal if it felt its fishing industry had been short-changed, but a source close to President Emmanuel Macron told DW that the government felt it "protects our fundamental interests."
What's in the EU-UK Brexit trade deal?
The Brexit trade agreement is meant to ensure the United Kingdom's smooth departure from one of the world's biggest trading blocs. DW explores its key provisions.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Kirk
Zero tariffs
The Brexit agreement has secured zero tariffs or quotas on goods traded once the United Kingdom exits the EU single market and customs union. This ensures a seamless trade transition in January 2021, with lower prices of basic goods for consumers. Negotiators have also reached specific facilitation arrangements for key industries such as wine, organics, automotive pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Image: Aaron Chown/AFP/Getty Images
Visa-free travel, social security benefits
Freedom of movement, including the right to work, study, start a business or live in the EU and UK will end. But the agreement provides visa-free travel for short-term visits up to 90 days. It also ensures that current UK and EU residents of each other's territories are able to retain their rights to work, as well as benefits such as pensions, parental leave and health care, among others.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/S. Parsons
EU-UK fisheries agreement
The UK will become an independent coastal state and face customs and food safety checks on its EU exports. But the agreement ensures sustainable management of shared fish stocks and quotas in EU and UK waters, in a transition period of 5 1/2 years. During this time, reciprocal access to fish remains unchanged. Afterwards, the two sides will have to reevaluate the situation for a new agreement.
Image: Danny Lawson/empics/picture alliance
Aviation safety and security cooperation
As UK passenger planes will lose access to a free EU aviation market, the agreement ensures cooperation between both sides on aviation safety, security and air traffic management. It provides aviation cargo with unlimited point-to-point traffic between UK and EU airports, but also to other countries — known as fifth freedom traffic rights.
Image: Markus Mainka/picture alliance
Some trade in services salvaged
Automatic recognition of professional qualifications for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, engineers and other professionals is set to end between the EU and UK. But the trade agreement ensures fair treatment for service suppliers or investors. It also removes unjustified barriers to digital trade and allows for open procurement markets for UK or EU bidders.
Image: Maciek Musialek/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Energy cooperation
The UK will leave the EU's internal energy market, the European Atomic Energy Community and will be out of bloc's Emissions Trading System. But the two sides have agreed to guarantees on energy supply security and offshore energy cooperation in the North Sea. The Brexit agreement also features enforceable commitments toward the Paris climate deal and seeks to link EU and UK carbon pricing regimes.
Image: Gareth Fuller/empics/picture alliance
UK remains in science research programs
In education, research and technology, the UK will abandon programs such as the Erasmus university program and the Galileo satellite system. But through the Brexit agreement, the UK will remain a part of five key programs: Horizon Europe, the EURATOM Research and Training Program, ITER (fusion test facility), Copernicus Earth monitoring system and EU Satellite Surveillance and Tracking system.
Image: Chris Ison/empics/picture alliance
Truck transport rights
UK truck operators will lose the right to conduct unlimited cross-trade in the EU, but the Brexit agreement ensures unlimited point-to-point access between the EU and the UK. It ensures full transit rights across each other's territories and grants the right to perform up to two extra operations within them. Working conditions, road safety and fair competition provisions are also included.
Image: Gareth Fuller/PA/empics/picture alliance
Continued cooperation with Europol, Eurojust
The UK will leave agencies such as Europol and Eurojust, and will lose access to the EU's sensitive databases in areas of security and justice. But the Brexit agreement ensures continued cooperation between the UK and these agencies. It also includes mechanisms for quick data exchange of passenger, DNA, fingerprint, vehicle and criminal record information between the UK and the EU.
Image: Imago Images/AFLO/Y. Nakao
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French fishermen have also welcomed the deal, having threatened to blockade the port of Calais in the event of a no deal Brexit that would have locked them out completely from UK seas.
"Everybody will lose out a bit," Olivier Leprete, the chairman of the influential regional fisheries committee in northern France, which represents local fishermen, told DW.
"The point is that European trawlers fan can still go into British waters, if it means that they fish a bit less," he said.
When will the Brexit deal come into force?
The agreement will be applied on a provisional basis until the European Parliament votes on it next year.
At a private meeting between Michel Barnier and MEPs on Monday, senior parliamentarians suggested February 23 as a possible date.
Boris Johnson said that the EU would always be the UK's "partners" and "friends"Image: Paul Grover/REUTERS
Barring an unexpected use of the European Parliament's veto, the tentative agreement secures the UK's orderly departure from the EU's single market and customs area on December 31, avoiding a chaotic no deal Brexit.
But governments on both sides of the Channel are warning that they expect some disruption to travel and trade flows.
“I think business is broadly in a good place but inevitably with any change, with any transition, there are occasional bumpy moments," British Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said in an interview on Monday.
Officials will now use what is known in EU jargon as 'written procedure' — a way of taking urgent decisions without the time-consuming need to call a meeting of ministers or EU leaders.
A spokesperson for the German government, which holds the current EU presidency, said the process should be completed tomorrow.
