Brexit will run smoothly on January 31. After three and a half years of blockages, British deputies gave the green light to the divorce agreement negotiated by Boris Johnson with Brussels, Thursday, January 9.
The overwhelming majority Boris Johnson has had since the legislative elections in December left little room for doubt. The agreement was passed in the House of Commons by 330 MPs against 231. The text translates into British law the 535-page agreement concluded in pain by Boris Johnson with the Twenty-Seven last fall.
It will then have to be validated by the House of Lords and then promulgated by the Queen, which should be a matter of formality. The European Parliament will then have to ratify the treaty two days before the fateful date, and the United Kingdom will become the first member country to leave the European Union on January 31 at 11 p.m. (10 p.m. in France).
This date will turn a page of political chaos that has taken over the United Kingdom since the June 2016 referendum, won 52% by the "Leave". For more than three years since, the British have been torn apart on the subject and their Parliament has rejected the agreement negotiated by former Prime Minister Theresa May without proposing any other scenario, raising fears until recently of an exit. brutal or a renunciation.
The opening of a transition period
The Brexit agreement negotiated with Brussels broadly settles the divorce by guaranteeing in particular the rights of citizens and by solving the headache of the Irish border. Above all, it aims to guarantee a smooth transition to a future relationship that remains to be determined.
Indeed, the text provides for a transition period until December 31, 2020, during which the British will continue to apply and benefit from European rules. They will pay their financial contribution, but without sitting in the institutions or participating in decisions. This period may only be extended once, up to the end of 2022.
After three postponements of Brexit, initially scheduled for March 2019, this deadline looks very short to negotiate free trade or security agreements which generally take years to put in place. But Boris Johnson does not want to extend this transition period. He repeated it to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, whom he received in London, while calling for a start. " as soon as possible " to negotiate.
Our selection of articles to understand Brexit
- Boris Johnson has masterfully succeeded, Corbyn has suffered a debacle: the lessons of an historic election which will allow the Prime Minister to achieve Brexit on January 31, 2020.
- Six months after the British Parliament's refusal to ratify the Theresa May and European Union Brexit deal, a new deal has been negotiated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
- This text, which repeats the essence of the "withdrawal agreement" in November 2018, notably removes the existence of the "backstop" at the border between the two Irish. Here are the key points.
- Understand: the diagram that summarizes the possible options (dated October 2019), while parliamentarians must validate the agreement of Boris Johnson to formalize the divorce between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
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