Brexit transition period: EU and UK still have a lot to negotiate

There is a transition period until New Year's Eve during which Great Britain and the EU can reorganize their relationships. Trade in particular could become critical.

• After Brexit, there will be a transition phase until the end of 2020.
• Within this short period of time, the British and the EU can reorganize their relations.
• Boris Johnson wants to meet the transition period in any case, experts suspect a tactical maneuver.

London - The EU is facing a historic turning point: So far, the international community has always grown, and nobody had thought of leaving for a long time. Even the “ Grexit ” for economically troubled Greece was only intended as a departure from the euro area, not from the European Union.

But now Britain is the first member to leave the European Union after years of struggle. An agreement was negotiated and the next steps became formal. The Brexit date was set to January 31 .

But what comes after that? What will happen to EU citizens in the UK ? What about trade relationships? And what happens to the laws and standards introduced by the EU?

Brexit: Agreement contains transition period of one year

A no-deal Brexit would have left these questions unanswered and would not only have plunged Britain into chaos. In particular, the companies on both sides of the channel could not have continued their business without problems.

However, the new British Tory government and EU negotiators have preempted this. You have negotiated an agreement that provides for a transition phase until the end of 2020. Until December 31st, many things will remain the same.

Transitional period applies to EU citizens in Great Britain and British in the EU

For example, EU citizens can stay in the UK until then. English, Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish can also stay in Europe without any problems. Until the end of the transition period, traveling EU citizens will still need an identity card to enter.

After that you need a valid passport . A visa will also be required for stays of more than three months. How students stay abroad when the Erasmus program no longer applies is also still unclear.

When even the staff at the International Office at @goetheuni are tired of the shit #brexit pic.twitter.com/OTanNP7GXD

The customs union with the EU remains in place during the Brexit transition phase

The most important news for companies is that the customs union will also continue to exist for the time being - even if a possible “hard Brexit” is not yet excluded. This means that there are no duties on imports and exports of the British and the EU member states . For this, the British continue to pay their contributions, which were one of the main arguments of the " Brexiteers " in the election campaign.

The trade relationship can therefore be maintained for the time being. A trade agreement has to be signed by the following year, otherwise the parties will face another kind of no-deal Brexit.

The painful separation has not yet been overcome. The problem: eleven months are very tight. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also complained.

Check out this post on Instagram

Today I met with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. When we leave the EU on January 31st, we will negotiate a new free trade agreement with our European partners and continue to work together as friends and sovereign equals to tackle the world's greatest challenges.

A post shared by Boris Johnson (@borisjohnsonuk) on Jan 8, 2020 at 10:21 am PST

The Brexit transition period dates from 2017, but Boris Johnson does not want to extend it either

The current deadline has been in place since 2017 and is related to the EU budget, which ends on 31 December. In 2017, however, the exit date in March 2019 was still assumed. What happened in the meantime is well known: Theresa May resigned after repeated attempts and cleared the way for Boris Johnson, who consolidated his power with the election victory in December.

With the majority of the parliament , “The Boris” was able to implement its slogan “ Get Brexit done! “(“ Implement Brexit! ”). And although the new date is almost a year after the original date on January 31, the prime minister wants to stick to the deadline.

Brexit: Boris Johnson wants to use tariffs to put pressure on the European Union

Johnson even wants to secure himself legally for this: Even if no trade agreement is reached, Britain should leave the customs union. Then extensive duties would apply to the EU countries on exports to the island.

The Institute for the World Economy (IfW) sees this as a prime minister's strategy: “Great Britain is putting the EU under pressure with its customs strategy. After leaving the EU, the kingdom becomes more attractive as a trading partner for other countries. European exporters are experiencing significantly more competition, which is a strong incentive for the EU to achieve a free trade agreement with the British, ”said IfW President Gabriel Felbermayr in a statement.

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