Victoria Prentis, the MP for Banbury, is also a Government minister for fisheries and farming. She told the House of Lord’s EU Environment Sub-Committee today (January 13) that the post-Brexit deal had been beneficial for fishing, after being asked if her ‘jaw had dropped’ when it was published on December 24. But Ms Prentis said she did not have time to read it at the time it was finally agreed. She said: “The agreement came when we were all very busy on Christmas Eve, in my case organising the local nativity trail. “We had been waiting and waiting, it looked like it was coming for probably four days before it arrived.
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Cabinet is expected to meet later today to discuss the deal. By Hayley Halpin Monday 28 Dec 2020, 11:55 AM Dec 28th 2020, 8:10 AM 22,260 Views 24 Comments
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Updated Dec 28th 2020, 11:55 AM
THE 27 EU member states have given the green light for the post-Brexit trade deal to come into effect on 1 January, a spokesman has said.
Ambassadors from EU capitals met in Brussels to nod through the accord, using a procedure which will take effect at 2pm tomorrow.
This will provisionally allow tariff-free trade with Britain to continue after it leaves the EU single market at the New Year.
Sebastian Fischer, spokesman for the German presidency of the EU, said: “EU Ambassadors have unanimously approved the provisional application of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.”
There will likely be disruption to trade flows, including at the border, in the short-term while barriers to trading with the nation’s biggest partner will “likely lead to slower growth and a more prolonged economic recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic, the analysis says.
“This thin deal is better than no deal at all, but still creates major trade barriers with our closest neighbour, which will inhibit growth and slow the economic recovery,” Mr Morris added.
A Government spokeswoman responded that ministers are “fully committed” to upholding the “high standards” agreed in the trade deal.
A hasty analysis of the treaty secured on Christmas Eve began in earnest when it was published in full on Boxing Day – less than a week before its implementation.
Boris Johnson has touted post-Brexit changes to business taxes and regulation next year as Conservative Eurosceptics pored over the details of his trade agreement with the EU.
The Prime Minister said that Chancellor Rishi Sunak is “doing a big exercise on all of this” currently but insisted that the UK would not regress on workers’ rights or environmental standards.
Scrutiny of the treaty began in earnest when the 1,246-page document was officially published on the morning of Boxing Day – less than a week before its implementation.
It was quickly met with severe criticism from those working in the fishing industry who said they had been “sacrificed” in order to secure the deal with Brussels.