EU Ambassadors to Assess Brexit Trade Deal on Christmas Day

Strategic Insights -

European Union ambassadors will convene on Christmas Day to review the free-trade deal reached with the UK after nine months of negotiations. The agreement has been hailed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a "new beginning," but fishing organizations are criticizing the deal, accusing the government of sacrificing the industry to secure an overall trade agreement. The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, will brief the diplomats on the agreement, which sets out rules for business and fishing rights.

Key Takeaways:

  • The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, will brief EU ambassadors on the Brexit trade deal on Christmas Day.
  • The deal has been criticized by a major fishing organization, which claims the prime minister sacrificed the industry to reach an agreement.
  • Boris Johnson has hailed the deal as a "new beginning" for the UK, but a number of Eurosceptic MPs within his own party have expressed concerns that it does not go far enough.
  • The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has said the deal is a "thin agreement," but his party will back it as the only alternative to no deal.
  • The EU's member states have supported the deal, with a German presidency spokesman joking that he was looking forward to celebrating Christmas among socially distanced colleagues.
  • The French Europe minister, Clément Beaune, has described the deal as "good" and said the EU had not accepted it "at all costs."
  • Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, has accused Boris Johnson of sacrificing the fishing industry to reach an agreement.
  • The deal includes an increase in the share of fish in British waters that the UK can catch, rising from about half now to two-thirds by the end of the five-and-a-half-year transition.

Statistics:

  • 1,500 pages: The estimated length of the full document supposedly to be published soon, detailing the terms of the Brexit trade deal.
  • 5.5 years: The duration of the transition period, during which the UK will catch two-thirds of the fish in British waters, up from about half now.
  • £100m: The amount of funding the UK government has allocated for the fishing industry to modernize and expand.
  • 9 months: The length of negotiations between the EU and the UK to reach the Brexit trade deal.

Sources:

  • [1] BBC News, "EU ambassadors to convene on Christmas Day to assess Brexit deal" (no date).
  • [2] The Guardian, "Boris Johnson hailed as 'Christmas present' as he unwraps post-Brexit trade deal" (no date).
  • [3] PA Media, "Barrie Deas: Boris Johnson sacrificed fishing industry for Brexit deal" (no date).
  • [4] European Parliament, "Brexit: EU and UK agree on trade deal" (no date).