The Brexit trade pact

London / Brussels (dpa) At the last minute, Brussels and London brought their trade pact for the time after the Brexit transition phase across the finish line. The text of the contract, which is more than 1,200 pages long and has now been published online, regulates issues relating to trade, cooperation between the police and the judiciary, and health insurance protection for travellers in emergencies. Here answers to the most important questions.

So not a no deal, but is this a soft Brexit?
No. The soft landing, which many in the EU long hoped for, was off the table at the latest with Boris Johnson’s election victory last year. Great Britain is leaving the single market and customs union and has now taken significantly more distance to Brussels than, for example, Norway or Switzerland. Business associations on both sides of the English Channel hoped for much more from the agreement. Cooperation is limited to a minimum. So this Brexit is rather tough.

What does that mean for trade?
It will be considerably more difficult than before. Companies on both sides will have to deal with significantly more formalities. Although the trade pact does not impose any customs duties on British goods, British exporters to the EU will now have laboriously to prove that their products are in fact manufactured mainly in their own country. Evidence of compliance with EU food safety rules and compliance with product standards will also have to be provided.

The British government has announced it will initially wave through everything that comes from the EU. It will introduce only gradually the demand for papers and other controls. But things are different on the EU side. The French government has announced that it will “seriously and extensively” inspect British goods from the turn of the year on.

For the service industry, too, which accounts for around 80 percent of UK gross value added, access to the European internal market will become much more difficult with the end of the Brexit transition phase on 31 December.

Why was the subject of fishing so difficult?
Although fishing is of little economic importance, it was the most difficult issue to resolve. This had to do with the weight the UK government placed in the negotiations on sovereignty and control. The British government’s view was that Great Britain must regain its independence, the mantra of Brexit supporters since the 2016 referendum. Control over the UK’s own fishing waters became the most powerful symbol of this. Even so, London made great concessions in the negotiations. Initially, European fishermen must forego only a quarter of their catch quotas, staggered over a period of five and a half years. Should London later restrict their access further, Brussels could respond with tariffs.

What was the problem in the end?
Above all, the issue of a level playing field. Brussels wanted to prevent the British from lowering their labour rights and environmental protection standards and thereby gaining an unfair competitive advantage. It also aimed to avert the risk of London “freezing” standards while they continue to rise in the EU. This will now be checked by an independent party. If need be, the EU could react with tariffs to protect its market.

What will change for Germans who travel or emigrate to the UK?
The free movement of people between the EU and Great Britain ends on 31 December 2020. This means that anyone who wants to work and live in Great Britain in future must apply for a visa. Granting of a visa will be regulated by a points-based system, in which factors such as the level of income and the sector of the economy play a role. There will be no visa requirement for tourists on shorter trips. The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) will remain valid for the time being. Travellers will also be able to make use of their home country health insurance coverage in an emergency in Great Britain. The major telephone providers do not want to charge roaming fees, even without a corresponding regulation in the agreement.

Will Brexit endanger peace in Northern Ireland?
The risk of having to introduce border controls between Northern Ireland, which belongs to the United Kingdom, and the EU member state Ireland was already averted in the exit agreement. Northern Ireland will be given a special status and remain more closely linked to the EU than the rest of the Kingdom. A resurgence of the conflict in Northern Ireland between the mainly Catholic supporters of a unification of the two parts of Ireland, and the predominantly Protestant supporters of the union with Great Britain, is therefore not a present danger.

What does the deal mean for cooperation between the police and judiciary?
Here both sides remain relatively close together. The cooperation of the British authorities with the EU agencies Europol and Eurojust is to continue. London, however, can no longer help shape the rules for these agencies. Provisions are also in place for close cooperation between the British police and judiciary and those of EU countries. In future, the British will no longer have access to certain EU databases, such as the Schengen information system, which, among other things, stores information on people who are being sought on arrest-warrants. The United Kingdom can, however, still access the EU database for storing air passenger data, vehicle registration data and EU criminal records. Cooperation will also continue in cross-border health risks – for instance, on the coronavirus – and in the exchange of secret information.

What areas are not regulated by the Brexit trade pact?
At the request of the British government, the subject of foreign and security policy was excluded from negotiations. “From 1 January, there will be no framework between Great Britain and the EU to develop and coordinate a coordinated response to foreign policy challenges”, states an overview by the EU Commission. This applies, for example, to sanctions against individuals or the economies of third countries.

The automatic recognition of professional qualifications will also be discontinued. Doctors, engineers, architects and many other professional groups will have to prove their qualifications according to the rules of the individual countries in which they want to work. Great Britain will no longer participate in the European Erasmus student exchange program.