Boris Johnson today declared the deal is done after striking a historic trade pact between the UK and EU.
The deal on goods worth £668 billion will mean zero tariffs and zero quotas, a UK source said, and would mean Britain has taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters.
Four-and-a-half years after the 2016 Brexit referendum, agreement was reached just hours before Christmas Day. Mr Johnson tweeted a picture of himself smiling with both thumbs lifted in the air. The deal is done, he wrote.
At a Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson said the deal will protect jobs across this country and has taken back control of our laws and our destiny.
He said that for the first time since 1973 the UK will be an independent coastal state with full control of our waters, with the UK’s share of fish in its waters rising substantially from roughly half today to closer to two-thirds in five-and-a-half years time.
But he accepted that the agreement for the City of London to trade with the EU was perhaps not as much as we would have liked. The Prime Minister said he hoped there would be a parliamentary vote on the deal on December 30.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference in Brussels: We have finally found an agreement. It was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it. It is fair. It is a balance deal.
She said: It is time to leave Brexit behind. Our future is made in Europe. Ms von der Leyen added: At the end of a successful negotiations journey, I normally feel joy. But today I only feel quiet satisfaction and frankly speaking relief.
I know this is a difficult day for some. To our friends in the UK, I want to say: parting is such sweet sorrow. But to use a line from TS Eliot: what we call the beginning is often the end, and to make an end is to make a beginning. So to all the Europeans, I say: It is time to leave Brexit behind, our future is made in Europe.
Ms von der Leyen stressed that the EU had negotiated from a strong position given its size, adding: “If they do not want to follow the rules, then there will be quota, tariffs, so there is a price to pay for that.
She said the deal meant EU rules and standards will be respected with effective tools to react if the UK side tries to undercut Brussels to seek a competitive advantage. There will be a five-and-a-half year transition period for the fishing industry, she indicated.
And co-operation will continue on issues including climate change, energy and transport. However, there were concerns that security in the UK could be hit by the deal as it will no longer be in Europol or Eurojust and have access to fewer key databases.
The UK source insisted that the deal would mean that the UK is no longer in the lunar pull of the EU, we are not bound by EU rules, there is no role for the European Court of Justice and all of our key red lines about returning sovereignty have been achieved.
Sir Keir Starmer swiftly signalled that he is likely to back the deal. A Labour Party spokesman said: Since the election, the Labour Party has urged the Government and the EU to secure a trade deal because that is in the national interest.