“The deal is over,” read a statement from Downing Street. “Everything promised to the British public during the 2016 referendum and last year’s general election is delivered by this agreement.”
Talks have been stalled for months after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on areas such as fishing quotas, how the UK would use state aid to support British businesses after Brexit and the legal oversight of any agreement concluded.
It is unlikely that the agreement will be officially ratified before the end of the Brexit transition, as it still has to go through a number of legal circles.
EU leaders, the European Parliament and the British government will now have to approve the agreement on their own.
The legal text of the agreement will first be translated, revised and approved by all 27 EU Member States.
Once all Member States have given their sign, it will return to the European Parliament, where MEPs will vote to ratify the agreement.
But the European Parliament said it was too late to hold an emergency voting session before the transition period ended on 31 December.
Instead, they intend to apply the EU-UK agreement “provisionally”, with MEPs officially returning to ratify the agreement in the New Year.
In the meantime, there will also be a vote in the British parliament to legalize the agreement.
Even if trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval, British parliamentarians are expected to be brought back from the Christmas break to debate and approve it.
It can take up to 48 hours to bring Parliament back to the session, but it is known to move very quickly when needed.
Although the agreement marks a significant milestone in the four-and-a-half years since Britain voted to leave the EU, it is unlikely to end years of toxic political debate in the UK.
Eurosceptic lawmakers are already working to ensure that an agreement leaves no room for Britain to withdraw from the EU’s orbit. In the meantime, pro-Europeans will hope that, at some point in the future, Britain, perhaps under new leadership, will be able to strengthen ties with Brussels.
This is a developing story …