European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared “It was worth fighting for this deal. We now have a fair & balanced agreement with the UK".
When compared to a no-deal scenario, the potentially ‘thinned-out’ Brexit Agreement has provided businesses with much needed assurance and stability in the wake of 2021 and is an agreement built on principles of cooperation and fair, level playing fields for competitors across the borders.
One could say that the main aim behind the Agreement is to minimize barriers to trade created as a result of the UK existing the European Union single market area and to diminish disruption following the launch of customs procedures on 1 January 2021. The Agreement does not do away with the need of each businesses to implement changes to its modus operandi. On the contrary, what it does is to create a sort of framework of changes that companies have to implement in order to be able to still carry out trade effectively between the UK and the EU from 2021 onwards.
Having said that, a lot of detail needs to be analysed and significant logistic changes to the future trading landscape between the UK and the EU should not be underestimated. It is being hoped that in the coming weeks more work will be carried out to tackle loopholes and areas that have been either scantily tackled or else completely omitted.
For more details refer to the publication entitled Brexit Agreement - Implications of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on Malta.
