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The agreement establishes the format of relations between Europe and the UK in trade, transport communication, fisheries and other spheres. The parties were to agree on its terms by the end of the transition year of 2020, during which time the EU rules were still in force in the territory of the country.
Without this agreement on the 1st of January there would have been a so-called hard Brexit: the transition from completely free movement of goods across the border to trade under the terms of the World Trade Organisation, i.e. with duties and quotas. This promised big losses for businesses on both sides, the BBC notes.
"We have finally reached an agreement. It has been a long and winding road, but we can demonstrate a good deal," Ursula von der Leyen said. The agreement, she said, was "worth fighting for" because it would avoid interrupting key UK-EU ties and ensure fair access to the common market, including balanced conditions for fisheries.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an official statement that the agreement reached would deliver "everything that was promised to our citizens in the 2016 referendum".
source: bbc.com
Without this agreement on the 1st of January there would have been a so-called hard Brexit: the transition from completely free movement of goods across the border to trade under the terms of the World Trade Organisation, i.e. with duties and quotas. This promised big losses for businesses on both sides, the BBC notes.
"We have finally reached an agreement. It has been a long and winding road, but we can demonstrate a good deal," Ursula von der Leyen said. The agreement, she said, was "worth fighting for" because it would avoid interrupting key UK-EU ties and ensure fair access to the common market, including balanced conditions for fisheries.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an official statement that the agreement reached would deliver "everything that was promised to our citizens in the 2016 referendum".
source: bbc.com