After intensive negotiations, the European Commission has reached today an agreement with the United Kingdom on the terms of its future cooperation with the European Union.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said: “It
was worth fighting for this deal because we now have a fair and
balanced agreement with the UK, which will protect our European
interests, ensure fair competition, and provide much needed
predictability for our fishing communities. Finally, we can leave Brexit
behind us and look to the future. Europe is now moving on.”
The European Commission's Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, said: “We
have now come to the end of a very intensive four-year period,
particularly over the past nine months, during which we negotiated the
UK's orderly withdrawal from the EU and a brand new partnership, which
we have finally agreed today. The protection of our interests has been
front and centre throughout these negotiations and I am pleased that we
have managed to do so. It is now for the European Parliament and the
Council to have their say on this agreement.”
The draft Trade and Cooperation Agreement consists of three main pillars:
- A Free Trade Agreement: a new economic and social partnership with the United Kingdom
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- The agreement covers not just trade in goods and services, but also a
broad range of other areas in the EU's interest, such as investment,
competition, State aid, tax transparency, air and road transport, energy
and sustainability, fisheries, data protection, and social security
coordination.
- It provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin.
- Both parties have committed to ensuring a robust level playing field
by maintaining high levels of protection in areas such as environmental
protection, the fight against climate change and carbon pricing, social
and labour rights, tax transparency and State aid, with effective,
domestic enforcement, a binding dispute settlement mechanism and the
possibility for both parties to take remedial measures.
- The EU and the UK agreed on a new framework for the joint management
of fish stocks in EU and UK waters. The UK will be able to further
develop British fishing activities, while the activities and livelihoods
of European fishing communities will be safeguarded, and natural
resources preserved.
- On transport, the agreement provides for continued and sustainable
air, road, rail and maritime connectivity, though market access falls
below what the Single Market offers. It includes provisions to ensure
that competition between EU and UK operators takes place on a level
playing field, so that passenger rights, workers' rights and transport
safety are not undermined.
- On energy, the agreement provides a new model for trading and
interconnectivity, with guarantees for open and fair competition,
including on safety standards for offshore, and production of renewable
energy.
- On social security coordination, the agreement aims at ensuring a
number of rights of EU citizens and UK nationals. This concerns EU
citizens working in, travelling or moving to the UK and to UK nationals
working in, travelling or moving to the EU after 1st January 2021.
- Finally, the agreement enables the UK's continued participation in a
number of flagship EU programmes for the period 2021-2027 (subject to a
financial contribution by the UK to the EU budget), such as Horizon
Europe.
- A new partnership for our citizens' security
-
- The Trade and Cooperation Agreement establishes a new framework for
law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal and civil law
matters. It recognises the need for strong cooperation between national
police and judicial authorities, in particular for fighting and
prosecuting cross-border crime and terrorism. It builds new operational
capabilities, taking account of the fact that the UK, as a non-EU member
outside of the Schengen area, will not have the same facilities as
before. The security cooperation can be suspended in case of violations
by the UK of its commitment for continued adherence to the European
Convention of Human Rights and its domestic enforcement.
- A horizontal agreement on Governance: A framework that stands the test of time
-
- To give maximum legal certainty to businesses, consumers and
citizens, a dedicated chapter on governance provides clarity on how the
agreement will be operated and controlled. It also establishes a Joint
Partnership Council, who will make sure the Agreement is properly
applied and interpreted, and in which all arising issues will be
discussed.
- Binding enforcement and dispute settlement mechanisms will ensure
that rights of businesses, consumers and individuals are respected. This
means that businesses in the EU and the UK compete on a level playing
field and will avoid either party using its regulatory autonomy to grant
unfair subsidies or distort competition.
- Both parties can engage in cross-sector retaliation in case of
violations of the agreement. This cross-sector retaliation applies to
all areas of the economic partnership.
Foreign policy, external security and defence cooperation is not
covered by the Agreement as the UK did not want to negotiate this
matter. As of 1 January 2021, there will therefore be no framework in
place between the UK and the EU to develop and coordinate joint
responses to foreign policy challenges, for instance the imposition of
sanctions on third country nationals or economies.
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement covers a number of areas that are
in the EU's interest. It goes well beyond traditional free trade
agreements and provides a solid basis for preserving our longstanding
friendship and cooperation. It safeguards the integrity of the Single
Market and the indivisibility of the Four Freedoms (people, goods,
services and capital). It reflects the fact that the UK is leaving the
EU's ecosystem of common rules, supervision and enforcement mechanisms,
and can therefore no longer enjoy the benefits of EU membership or the
Single Market. Nevertheless, the Agreement will by no means match the
significant advantages that the UK enjoyed as a Member State of the EU.
Big changes coming: getting ready 1 January 2021
Even with the new EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement in place, there will be big changes on 1 January 2021.
On that date, the UK will leave the EU Single Market and Customs
Union, as well as all EU policies and international agreements. The free
movement of persons, goods, services and capital between the UK and the
EU will end.
The EU and the UK will form two separate markets; two distinct
regulatory and legal spaces. This will create barriers to trade in goods
and services and to cross-border mobility and exchanges that do not
exist today – in both directions.
The Withdrawal Agreement
The Withdrawal Agreement remains in place, protecting amongst other
things the rights of EU citizens and UK nationals, the EU's financial
interests, and crucially, peace and stability on the island of Ireland.
The full and timely implementation of this agreement has been a key
priority for the European Union.
Thanks to intensive discussions between the EU and the UK in the
Joint Committee and the various Specialised Committees, the Withdrawal
Agreement – and the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, in
particular – will be implemented on 1 January.
On 17 December, the EU-UK Joint Committee met to
endorse all formal decisions and other practical solutions related to
the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement. As part of these
mutually agreed solutions, the UK has agreed to withdraw the contentious
clauses of the UK Internal Market Bill, and will not introduce any
similar provisions in the Taxation Bill.
Next steps
The entry into application of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is a matter of special urgency.
- The United Kingdom, as a former Member State, has extensive links
with the Union in a wide range of economic and other areas. If there is
no applicable framework regulating the relations between the Union and
the United Kingdom after 31 December 2020, those relations will be
significantly disrupted, to the detriment of individuals, businesses and
other stakeholders.
- The negotiations could only be finalised at a very late stage before
the expiry of the transition period. Such late timing should not
jeopardise the European Parliament's right of democratic scrutiny, in
accordance with the Treaties.
- In light of these exceptional circumstances, the Commission proposes
to apply the Agreement on a provisional basis, for a limited period of
time until 28 February 2021.
The Commission will swiftly propose Council decisions on the
signature and provisional application, and on the conclusion of the
Agreement.
The Council, acting by the unanimity of all 27 Member States, will
then need to adopt a decision authorising the signature of the Agreement
and its provisional application as of 1 January 2021. Once this process
is concluded, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and
the UK can be formally signed.
The European Parliament will then be asked to give its consent to the Agreement.
As a last step on the EU side, the Council must adopt the decision on the conclusion of the Agreement.
More information
More information on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union and the Withdrawal Agreement
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