British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at the Prime Minister’s Questionnaire in Parliament, London, 4 September 2019.
Jessica Taylor | © British Parliament | Reuters
LONDON – British lawmakers have voted to approve the historic Brexit trade deal, which will be implemented on New Year’s Day.
The Volksraad has, as expected, voted in favor of the agreement, and the country will emerge from the Brexit transition period with the EU at 23:00 local time on Thursday.
MPs support the agreement by 521 votes to 73 before the 31 December deadline. That’s a majority of 448. The bill will now move to the House of Lords, which is also expected to support it, before receiving royal approval.
The opposition Labor Party supported dissent, but there were some rebel lawmakers in Labor and the ruling Conservative party.
The 1,246-page document, the details of which are published on the UK government’s website, and the hampered last-minute negotiations left little time for proper investigation before the deadline.
The Prime Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, rejected the agreement and the British fishing industry gave an icy response, accusing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being only a “fraction of what the United Kingdom has under international law and to which the government right, assured. has repeatedly said it will secure on behalf of the British fishing industry. ‘
Some 47 years after joining the European Union, Britain officially left the bloc on 31 January 2020, making it the first nation to ever leave the EU. However, it has agreed to continue to follow European rules until the end of 2020, so that it can negotiate more favorable terms of trade with the other 27 countries.
On Christmas Eve, the two parties reach a “zero-tariff-zero-quota contract” to help facilitate the trading of goods across the English Channel. This has brought relief to exporters on both sides who would have experienced higher tariffs and costs if an agreement had not been reached.
The two parties have been embroiled in intense talks since March to determine how trade will work from January. On Monday, EU ambassadors approved a preliminary application for the agreement after working through the Christmas holidays. The EU parliament will vote on the agreement next month.