{"id":20116,"date":"2021-04-29T15:01:07","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T15:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kumasionlinegh.com\/?p=20116"},"modified":"2021-04-29T15:01:09","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T15:01:09","slug":"brexit-european-parliament-backs-uk-trade-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kumasionlinetv.com\/?p=20116","title":{"rendered":"Brexit: European Parliament backs UK trade deal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The European Parliament has ratified the post-Brexit EU-UK trade deal \u2013 a key move to ensure that tariff-and quota-free trade continues.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) has been operating provisionally since January. MEPs voted in favour by 660 votes to 5, while 32 abstained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u2019s chief negotiator, Lord Frost, said the vote \u201cbrings certainty and allows us to focus on the future\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke of a \u201cfinal step in a long journey\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trade deal provided \u201cstability to our new relationship with the EU as vital trading partners, close allies and sovereign equals\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result, announced on Wednesday after a vote late on Tuesday, was also welcomed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the parliament\u2019s Brexit Co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, reacted by describing the deal as \u201ca failure for both sides, but better than nothing\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord Frost\u2019s opposite number in the Brexit talks, Michel Barnier, was also less than flattering. \u201cThis is a divorce. It is a warning, Brexit. It\u2019s a failure of the European Union and we have to learn lessons from it,\u201d he told MEPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brexit tensions remain, including a French threat of \u201creprisals\u201d against the UK over new fishing restrictions. Northern Ireland trade is also a thorny issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under a separate protocol, Northern Ireland remains de facto part of the EU\u2019s single market, so goods arriving there from Britain have to undergo EU checks. Since Brexit there has been some disruption to that trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TCA covers EU-UK trade in goods, but not services. The UK economy is dominated by services \u2013 sectors such as banking, insurance, advertising and legal advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n