UK ratifies post-Brexit deal, completing EU exit
The British Parliament on December 30 quickly approved the post-Brexit agreement signed with the EU on December 24, just 1 day before the Brexit transition period ends and the UK completes its exit from the EU.
After a brief debate, MPs in the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to approve the post-Brexit trade deal with the EU on December 24, with 521 votes in favour and 73 against. The groups opposing the deal were the Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Scottish National Party (SNP) and a small group of Liberal Democrats (Libs-Dem).
After passing the most important procedure in the British House of Commons, this agreement was also forwarded to the British House of Lords for approval on the night of December 30 to officially take effect at 11:00 p.m. on December 31, London time.
Sign the official agreement, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised this as a great achievement for the UK, as it retains access to the European single market while being free to implement its own policies.
“The UK can now implement policies in a different way, can find other ways to be more competitive but at the same time retain access to the European market. In fact, this deal is on much better terms than the trade agreement that the EU has with Canada because it has no tariffs and no limits,” Prime Minister Johnson stressed.
Before the British government and Parliament approved the post-Brexit trade agreement, on December 30, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel also signed the official agreement and sent it to the British side.
Currently, the only remaining procedure for the European side is the approval of the European Parliament. However, since it is currently on vacation and the European Parliament will most likely not meet in Strasbourg until the end of January 2021 or the beginning of February 2021 to approve the agreement, the EU and the UK have agreed to temporarily apply the entire agreement from January 1, 2021./.
