“Brexit Deal”: These are the answers to the most important questions

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Until the very last moment, the question of whether the European Union and the United Kingdom will part amicably after almost 48 years hung on one issue: fish, or rather the access of the EU fishing fleet to British waters from January 1, 2021, where Europeans catch a catch worth € 650 million every year.

On Thursday afternoon it was clear that the EU and Great Britain had agreed on a trade agreement after Brexit.

“It took a while, but now we have an agreement.

It was a long and rocky road.

But the result is good, ”said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“My message to all Europeans is: let's leave Brexit behind!

Our future is made in Europe! "

The most important questions and answers.

1) What's next?

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The European Parliament and the UK House of Representatives will still have to approve the deal.

But this is no longer possible before January 1st, the day on which Great Britain leaves the EU internal market and the customs union.

"It is now impossible for Parliament to evaluate a deal before the end of the year," said the parliamentary group leader of the conservative majority party EPP, Manfred Weber (CSU) after the deadline set by the EU Parliament for a finished text last Sunday evening.

The solution now is for the new free trade agreement to come into force initially and for ratification by the parliaments in Brussels and London to take place later in January.

A provisional application of the agreement from January 1st is only feasible because both sides reached an agreement before Christmas and the formalization and translation of the draft resolution will be in good time before the New Year.

In the coming days, the EU governments can now approve, and in January the parliaments.

Both are a matter of form.

2) Is it still possible to vacation in the UK?

Naturally.

Whether London, the Scottish Highlands, the Welsh or Northern Irish coast, the country is still open to tourists.

Thanks to the comparatively low exchange rate for some time now, the country is even cheaper than in earlier times.

Entry is possible for a vacation stay without a visa for up to six months.

An identity card is sufficient until October 2021, after which a passport is required.

3) What does the deal mean for the German economy?

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In German executive floors, the agreement should provide relief.

Because it averts an abrupt end to previous trade relations.

After December 31st, Great Britain is no longer part of the EU internal market.

The agreement, however, ensures access to the internal market and thus trade without tariffs for both sides.

Nevertheless, it will be more bureaucratic and therefore more expensive than before: Customs declarations and additional documents will be necessary;

for animal products, for example, many more certificates have to be supplied than before.

Conversely, however, this also means that companies from the continent cannot hope that unpleasant competition from Great Britain will disappear.

British companies that offer goods and services in Europe will be less competitive on the continent than before.

How much will depend on the individual case.

The agreement also means relief for companies such as BMW, which manufacture in Great Britain.

You can continue to rely on the established complex supply chains for parts and components, which often extend across Europe.

However, doing business for many industries is likely to become more complicated, more time-consuming and therefore less lucrative.

And this is likely to make Great Britain less attractive as a production location.

4) Is the Covid blockade a foretaste of the Brexit chaos?

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In the beginning.

Since there is now a free trade agreement, no tariffs are levied.

Since the British are leaving the EU internal market, French, Belgian or Dutch border guards have to check goods from the kingdom for standards.

This is particularly important with food.

According to experts, at least four percent of the goods should be physically examined, the rest digitally declared.

However, the planned British IT system does not yet stand for this.

In addition, every fifth British company has still not gone through the necessary bureaucratic stuff, especially small exporters.

In contrast to the EU, the British have decided that they will not carry out any checks on goods coming from the continent for six months.

However, logisticians will hesitate to send their trucks to the island if they are stuck in traffic for days on the way back to Dover.

Considerable disruptions are therefore to be expected in trade and delivery in the first few months of 2021.

5) Will the island now become Europe's cheap workbench?

The EU fears that the UK could offset disadvantages by luring producers with lax environmental regulations and labor-intensive industries with weak labor rights.

France in particular has therefore insisted on a so-called level playing field - the same rules for everyone - right from the start.

When negotiating the agreement, the EU therefore attached great importance to ensuring that Great Britain could not undercut EU standards and that it would keep up with future changes to EU law.

Up until the end of the day, the negotiators fought over how conflicts on these issues, especially with regard to state aid, should be resolved.

6) Will the British continue to help with Europe's security?

Great Britain will no longer make any contributions to EU defense policy.

This is a serious setback for the Europeans.

The British are also likely to reject all EU offers for defense policy cooperation.

After Brexit, Great Britain is relying even more heavily on NATO.

Most European countries also benefit indirectly from this: 23 EU states are also members of NATO.

But for pure EU operations such as in Mali or in the Mediterranean off Libya, the British are no longer providing soldiers or material.

Most European states should still have access to the secret service information from London via NATO and bilateral agreements.

The British Government also takes the view that the fight against terrorism does not stop at national borders and must therefore be waged together.

Basically nothing should change in the previous cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

The police cooperation will weaken the fact that the British are no longer with Europol.

7) is peace secured in Northern Ireland?

Yes.

The fact that this succeeded after 30 years of conflict goes back to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which guarantees an open border.

The exit agreement agreed in October 2019 stipulated that this remains open even after the British have left the EU and thus does not provoke any new violence between Republicans and Unionists.

In contrast to Great Britain, Northern Ireland remains on its basis in the EU internal market and in the customs union.

8) Can I continue to settle in the UK?

This will be much more difficult on January 1, 2021, because the EU's free movement of people will end.

If you don't just want to go on vacation to the island, you need a visa.

Employees must collect points for this, for example through a job guaranteed by a British company and special qualifications.

In addition, a minimum income of around 30,000 euros is required.

Students will also need a visa and additional health insurance in the future, which costs around 1000 euros.

So far, London and Brussels have not been able to come to an agreement on the continuation of the Erasmus study program, which has brought thousands of young Europeans to the Kingdom every year.

There is still a question mark over many important research collaborations.

9) Is that the end of Brexit?

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No.

Especially since the most important industry is not part of the contract: the financial industry, which accounts for around seven percent of the British economy and employs around one million people.

With this service the British are export champions.

But they lose their “EU passport” at the beginning of the year.

Whether Brussels will unilaterally award “equivalence” for the industry and certify comparable legal standards remains to be negotiated.

Especially since London now wants to set its own rules.

Transitional rules still apply at the moment.

Likewise, many questions of data protection, which are fundamental for digital commerce, are still open.

Why many British companies have long opened branches in the EU.

But new connections will have to be established in many other fields in the next few years, whether between Brussels and London or between Berlin and London.

Last but not least, the subject of fish will be retained - because how much the Europeans are allowed to catch, that too should be renegotiated after a deadline.