Brussels/Split, 24 December 2020
The European Union and the United Kingdom reached an agreement right before the end of the Brexit transition period. The UK will leave the EU Single Market on 1 January 2021 with a trade deal.
Vice Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament Zeljana Zovko congratulated the negotiators for finding a common ground and preventing the expected chaos of a no-deal scenario. “The negotiations were tough, but a deal has been found in time. Both sides found an agreement on the last open questions, including fisheries and the competitiveness of the European and British companies” Zovko said. She also stressed that she feels sorry for the end the student exchange with UK via Erasmus+ and the end of the cultural links through the many European programs. “Nonetheless, this deal is the best possible option not to burn all the bridges after a sad divorce with UK we witnessed earlier this year.” Zovko said
As next steps, the Council will adopt a decision authorising the signature of the Agreement and its provisional application as of 1 January 2021. Afterwards, the European Parliament will scrutinize the agreement in January.