Prime Minister Johnson “British will be the best market for Europe”
After the ratification process, significant changes are expected from next year to roaming rates and visas
No deal Brexit blocked, but… Voices of concern “the British will become poorer”
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Negotiations on future relations between the UK and the European Union (EU), the de facto last gateway to Brexit (British withdrawal from the European Union), have been concluded. Accordingly, after joining the European Economic Community (EEC), which is the predecessor of the EU in 1973, the period of the 47 years of cohabitation continued to mark a period. As the negotiations for future relations are concluded, the two sides will experience changes in relations in various fields starting from January next year. The breakdown in negotiations has helped the UK to avoid the worst’no-deal Brexit’ situation, in which the UK leaves the EU without any agreement, but there are also voices of concern that the UK may face economic hardship after Brexit.
The UK and the EU announced on the 24th (local time) that they had reached an agreement to negotiate future relations. This came about nine months after the start of future relations negotiations in March, and about a week before the end of the transition period until the end of the year.
In a statement released today, the British government said, “With this agreement, what we promised the people at the 2016 (Brexit) referendum and (last year) general elections.” He stressed that “the UK has regained control over finances, borders, laws, trade and waters.”
“This agreement is fantastic news for families and businesses across the UK,” the statement said. “We are the first to sign a tariff-free and quota-free agreement with the EU. This is the largest bilateral agreement for each other.”
As of 2019, the volume of bilateral trade amounted to 680 billion pounds (about 1,003 trillion won).
The statement said, “(This agreement) will have full political and economic independence from January 1st, 2021,” and “We have completed Brexit. As an independent trading country, we now have a fantastic opportunity to sign trade agreements with our partners around the world.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “We will be friends, allies and supporters of Europe, and really the best mayors.” It will be done.”
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“We finally reached an agreement,” said the head of the EU administration, Urzula Ponderaien, at a press conference after the agreement. “It was a long and winding road, but we had a good agreement at the end.”
“A fair and balanced agreement,” he said, and “adequate and responsible agreement for both sides.”
“I believe this agreement is in the interests of Britain as well,” said Fon der Raien. “This will lay a solid foundation for a fresh start with an old friend. This means that we can finally leave Brexit behind, and Europe will continue to move forward.”
As the UK and the EU conclude negotiations on future relations, the agreement must now go through the parliamentary ratification process of both sides.
The British Parliament is currently in the Christmas recess, but the government is planning to convene again on the 30th to push for approval of the agreement.
The ruling Conservative Party has secured seats far exceeding the standard of the majority, and the Labor Party, the first opposition party, also decided to support the agreement saying that it is better than the’no deal’, and it is expected to pass without any difficulty.
The agreement must be approved by EU member states and the European Parliament. They are expected to begin review work immediately. Ambassadors of the 27 EU member states will meet on the 25th of the Christmas holiday to begin reviewing the agreement. It is expected to take two or three days for member states to analyze the agreement and decide whether to approve the provisional implementation.
After leaving the EU on January 31, the UK has negotiated with the EU to set a deadline until the end of this year for the smooth implementation of Brexit and establish future relations, including trade agreements. However, after the start of negotiations in March, only nine official negotiations were held over nine months, but the two sides were unable to narrow their disagreements over the areas of issue such as fishing. The change in the atmosphere of negotiations is said to have been due to the acceptance of the EU’s arguments on the fishery issue that the UK had disagreeed with. Regarding fishing, the UK has proposed a 35% reduction in EU catch quotas in its waters over three years, but the EU has still advocated a 25% cut over six years. “The UK has accepted the EU’s claim to cut 25%,” Bloomberg said.
After the ratification process is complete and the UK leaves the EU, British citizens who want to stay in Europe for more than 90 days starting in January next year must obtain a visa. Since the automatic recognition of professional qualifications such as doctors, architects, and pharmacists is not applied, UK professionals who want to work in Europe must obtain recognition from their respective countries. Mobile phone roaming rates, which are now free, may increase.
In terms of security, big changes are also expected. The UK is no longer a member of the European Organization for Legal Cooperation (Eurojust) and the European Police Agency (Europol).
However, cooperation between the UK and these agencies continues, in cooperation between the police and judicial authorities on both sides. The UK will continue to have access to the EU Schengen Information System, which shares police alerts of disappearance or theft.
You can check who are moving on an aircraft or ferry through the’Passenger Name Records’. Through this, databases such as terrorist response, suspect fingerprints and DNA, and license plates can continue to be used jointly.
Unlike products, services, especially financial services that the UK has strong, were not covered in specifics in the agreement. The two sides predicted that separate agreements on financial markets will be needed apart from the trade agreement negotiations.
Once approved by a country for financial services, the’financial passport’ method of freely selling financial products and services to EU member states will become impossible in the future.
As the two sides reach an agreement just a week before the end of the transition period, it is predicted that the economic impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU could be greatly reduced. It has been pointed out several times that if the no-deal Brexit becomes a reality, it will have considerable economic impact on the UK. In fact, British Central Bank (BOE) governor Andrew Bailey attended the House Finance Committee last month and feared that the long-term impact of leaving the EU without a trade agreement would be greater than the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).
However, although the conclusion of the negotiations on future relations will remove uncertainty and act as a synergistic effect on the UK economy in the short term, there are also prospects that it will make the UK poorer.
CNN broadcast predicted that if the UK completely separates from the EU from next year, it will give up a single market, which will increase corporate expenses, resulting in higher consumer prices, exports, and intensifying the unemployment problem.
In particular, CNN noted that the free trade agreement concluded between the UK and the EU only deals with trade in goods that show deficit against the EU, but does not include services such as the financial industry showing a surplus.
Unlike commodities, services, especially financial services in which the UK is strong, were not covered in specifics in the agreement. The UK and EU have shown a position that separate agreements on financial markets are needed apart from trade agreement negotiations.
/ Reporter Park Seong-gyu [email protected]
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