The trade agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom comes into full effect

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom came into full effect on Saturday after it was ratified by the European Parliament last Wednesday, in the last pending step to confirm the text that was concluded on the evening of Christmas Eve 2020.

The agreement has already been provisionally implemented as of January 1, 2021, the first day with the United Kingdom completely disengaging from societal structures, and full entry into force does not alter the “status quo” for the first months of the year, however completely excluding the possibility of a Brexit scenario. European without a deal.

After the trade pact negotiations are completed on December 24, both the British House of Commons and the European Parliament must give the green light to the agreement to confirm it will enter into force. While it was conducted from London before the end of the year, the European Parliament refused to speed up its scrutiny of the agreement to the point that it could only be applied temporarily.

After four months of scrutiny, the European Parliament voted to ratify the text on Wednesday by 660 votes to 5 against, and 32 abstentions.

On Thursday, the Council, the institution that represents the countries, approved the so-called “conclusion” of this agreement, which is the last for the European bloc, after which letters were exchanged with the British authorities to notify this process.

The final agreement and its annexes were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Friday and entered into force on Saturday.

New relationship

The agreements defining the new link between London and Brussels are the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) on the one hand, and the United Kingdom on the other hand; The Agreement on Security Measures for the Exchange and Protection of Confidential Information between the European Union and the United Kingdom, and the Agreement on Cooperation for the Safe and Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, between Euratom and the United Kingdom.

It annulls all the community treaties and rules that set the UK’s membership in the European Union for 47 years, a relationship that was condemned to vote in favor of secession in the June 2016 referendum in the UK.

The formal exit process took effect in March 2017, and since then the two blocs have negotiated how to redefine relations and agreements, often in a complex context between the European Commission – which led the talks on behalf of the 27 countries – and the government. British, led by Theresa May at first and later Boris Johnson.

However, from now on, the structures established to monitor the performance and proper implementation of the signed agreements continue to work, which has gained some notoriety after the unilateral violation of part of the Irish Protocol by the British government, which is what Brussels and London are trying to do. Solve by dialogue.