The Brexit negotiations seemed to be approaching failure in the past few weeks - now there has been a surprising turnaround.
Europe's top politicians expressed confidence.
Shortly before the end of the transition phase on December 31, it is done: A deal between Great Britain and the EU.
(see first report)
Angela Merkel described the agreement as a "positive result".
(see update from December 24th, 4.34 p.m.)
Boris Johnson was obviously relieved too.
The pictures speak for themselves.
(see update from December 24th, 5:23 p.m.)
This ticker is continuously updated.
Update from December 25th, 4.40 p.m.:
Despite the Christmas trade agreement:
Brexit
means painful cuts for some people.
It is now clear that this group will include many young
students in Europe
.
After more than 30 years, Great Britain is withdrawing from the
European Erasmus program
for students
as part of the post-Brexit agreement
.
It was a "difficult decision", said British
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
on Thursday after the agreement on a
trade agreement between London and Brussels
.
The program was "extremely expensive" for his country, Johnson justified the move.
The prime minister also announced a replacement program.
He wanted to enable British students to study at the “best universities” in the world and not just in Europe.
For the almost
150,000 students from EU countries
currently
enrolled at British universities, studying
abroad at universities in the United Kingdom is likely to become more expensive and more difficult.
Brexit: trade pact is in place, big tasks are waiting - meeting on Monday?
Update from December 25th, 3:33 p.m.:
The Brexit trade pact has been found in principle after a long hanging game - but the
27 member states
still have to approve the negotiation result.
The German spokesman spoke of a "huge task".
Even the actual
trade agreement
is 1246 pages long.
There are also other agreements, a total of 1298 pages of contract text.
These must now be checked in the 27 member states.
According to information from the
AFP
news
agency
, a meeting of the
EU ambassadors is
planned on Monday.
If all goes well there, the ambassadors will initiate a written procedure that would pave the way for the signing and provisional application of the agreement.
The provisional application was "an extraordinary step," said the spokesman for the German
EU Presidency
.
The aim is to prevent "a significant disruption of relations between the
EU
and
Great Britain
with serious consequences for citizens and businesses" after the end of the transition period on January 1st.
The
approval process has also been initiated
in
Great Britain
.
To this end, Parliament is to be called to an extraordinary session on December 30th.
The
Labor Party
has already announced that it will vote for the agreement.
This would mean that deviants in the conservative government camp would not prevent approval.
The pre-Christmas peace spurred conversations between the 🇪🇺 and 🇬🇧.
It is very good news that both sides have finally agreed on a regulated Brexit.
Late, but not too late.
That's good for 🇩🇪, for 🇪🇺and🇬🇧.
And: We'll stay friends, dear Brits.
pic.twitter.com/DaxAAmTKsO
- Olaf Scholz (@OlafScholz) December 24, 2020
Brexit deal at Christmas: EU member states agree on trade deals
Update from December 25th, 12 noon:
The
EU member states
have started examining the
Brexit trade agreement
with Great Britain.
EU negotiator
Michel Barnier
informed the ambassadors of the 27 member states on Friday morning in Brussels about the outcome of the negotiations, as a spokesman for the German EU Presidency announced on Twitter.
According to this, the contract text is 1246 pages long.
The spokesman called it a "daunting task" to review the deal in the coming days.
On the EU side, the governments of all have
27 Member States
nor approve the outcome of negotiations in
the United Kingdom
must inform Parliament agree.
The aim is for the agreement to come into force on January 1st.
The ratification by the
European Parliament
is to take place in retrospect at the beginning of 2021.
Update from December 24th, 6.48pm:
"European unity and stability have paid off": France's head of state
Emmanuel Macron
has also
welcomed
the agreement on the
Brexit trade pact
between the EU and Great Britain.
France often followed a hardline line in the Brexit tussle.
“The deal with the UK is important to protect our citizens, our fishermen and our producers,”
Macron
continued.
One will now see whether this is really the case.
"Europe is making progress and can look forward to a united, independent and strong future," said Macron.
Christmas miracles!
Brexit deal stands - Merkel and Johnson react
Update from December 24th, 5:23 pm:
"I think this is a good deal for all of Europe," said
Boris Johnson
about the final Brexit deal.
“We will be your friend, your partner, your supporter, and not to forget your number one market.” Chancellor Merkel and Ursula von der Leyen reacted in a similar way.
From the point of view of the Johnson administration, the deal
has achieved everything
that the British public wanted with the 2016 Brexit referendum.
"We have regained control of our money, our borders, our laws, our trade and our fishing grounds," said the government.
At the same time, the agreement grants
freedom from customs duties
and
unlimited exports
to the EU.
Boris Johnson showed on Twitter that he is very happy about the deal.
He posted a photo of himself holding both thumbs in the air.
"The deal is done,"
he wrote.
The deal is done.
pic.twitter.com/zzhvxOSeWz
- Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 24, 2020
Update from December 24th, 4:34 p.m
.: Chancellor
Angela Merkel
* has recognized the Brexit agreement
(see first report)
as
historical
.
"With the agreement we are creating the basis for a new chapter in our relations," said the
CDU *
politician
.
"Great Britain will continue to be an important partner for Germany and for the European Union outside of the European Union." The agreement was "of historical importance".
Christmas miracles!
Brexit deal stands after agreement on the last crucial point - Merkel reacts
Merkel agreed to check the text quickly.
The Federal Cabinet will agree on the German position by telephone next Monday.
"I am very confident that we have a good result here," said the Chancellor.
All member states and the EU Parliament must agree to the agreement.
Chancellor #Merkel on the agreement between the #EU and Great Britain: “The agreement is of historic importance.
With the agreement we are creating the basis for a new chapter in our relationships. ”#BrexitDeal https://t.co/GcgbxIPhLY pic.twitter.com/fgCu98LQlx
- Ulrike Demmer (@UlrikeDemmer) December 24, 2020
Christmas miracles!
Brexit deal stands - agreement with EU on the last crucial point
Our initial report on December 24th
: London -
A tough economic break appears to have been averted
with
Brexit
: After months of debates on a
trade pact
, the
EU
and
Great Britain
have reached an agreement.
Both sides confirmed this on Thursday afternoon.
EU Commission chief
Ursula von der Leyen
and negotiator
Michel Barnier
announced a
press conference
.
The trade agreement is intended to
regulate
economic relations between the island and the continent from
January 2021
.
The most important point is
to avoid
tariffs
and ensure the smoothest possible trade.
The contract also includes
fishing
and cooperation on energy, transport, justice, police and many other topics.
Brexit agreement with the Johnson government: negotiations were on the verge of failure
A very last
sticking point
that had been heatedly debated for weeks: the access of
EU fishermen
to
British waters
.
The clarification of the last details dragged on for
many hours
until Thursday noon.
Finally, a compromise was found here too.
The negotiations should actually have been concluded in October.
Several times they were on the verge of failure.
The agreement promises Great Britain exports to the EU internal market without tariffs and without volume restrictions.
For this, however, the EU demands fair competitive conditions - the so-called
level playing field
.
What is meant are the same environmental, social and subsidy standards.
+
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the Brexit PC on December 21 - negotiations dragged on.
© Tolga Akmen / various sources / AFP
Great Britain in Brexit negotiations - Corona mutation exacerbates the situation
The worsening
corona pandemic *
in Great Britain
had recently
built up further pressure.
After a mutated variant of
Sars-CoV-2 was
discovered, France temporarily closed its borders to
traffic
from Great Britain.
That is why thousands of trucks were jammed on the British side - from the point of view of critics a foretaste of the situation in a
no-deal Brexit
.
The British voters in 2016 voted with a narrow majority in favor of leaving the EU.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
won the parliamentary elections in 2019, among other things with the announcement that Brexit will actually be carried out.
As a central point, he repeatedly mentioned regaining sovereignty and control over one's own borders and laws.
(dpa / frs)
* Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editorial network.
List of rubric lists: © Paul Grover / Daily Telegraph / dpa
