January 01, 2021

Andrew Campbell 

As the midnight clocks struck in Brussels and marked the arrival of new year's day of 2021, corresponding to 11 p.m. of new year's Eve in London, the UK finally starts a historic new chapter with European Union. The UK breaks loose from the EU's 27-nation bloc as its Brexit transition period expired.

Since the summer of 2016, when a Brexit referendum on EU membership received nearly 52% of British voters electing to leave the EU, Britain officially severed its nearest and biggest trading partner on January 31, 2020. Nevertheless, both the EU and UK agreed to extend a grace period to December 31, 2020, in order to reach a new trade deal in time.

The new deal contains rules for people and companies from the UK and EU to live, travel, work, and trade with each other after the Brexit. Earlier, ambassadors to the 27 EU nations formally approved the trade deal proposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and the EU. It also cleared the majority of UK lawmakers in Parliament on December 30. The European Parliament will vote on the new deal in January. The new deal preserves Britain's tariff- and quota-free access to the EU consumers. But, the UK economy still has some uncertainties about the dreadful consequences of Brexit.

Photo:Webshot.