EU Ambassadors approve provisional application of post-Brexit trade agreement
Dec 28, 2020
Brussels [Belgium], December 28 : The European Union Ambassadors have approved the provisional application of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement as of January 1, 2021, Germany's permanent representative Sebastian Fischer said on Monday.
"Green light for #BrexitDeal: EU Ambassadors have unanimously approved the provisional application of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement as of January 1, 2021. Next step: Final adoption by use of written procedure. Deadline: Tomorrow, 15.00 hours," Fischer wrote on Twitter.
With just a few days to spare for the Brexit transition period to end, the British government on December 24 announced that it has finally struck a post-Brexit trade agreement with the European Union (EU).
"Deal is done," read a statement from Downing Street. "Everything that the British public was promised during the 2016 referendum and in the general election last year is delivered by this deal."
For months, Britain and the European Union had been in a deadlock as the two sides were "unable to reach agreement in areas such as fishing quotas, how the UK would use state aid to support British businesses post-Brexit, and legal oversight of any deal struck".
The UK withdrew from the EU on January 31. The two have agreed to a transition period until December 31 to negotiate the bilateral trade terms post-Brexit. The items they so far disagree on are regulations on fisheries and state aid.
