(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama) After the relief of having reached in extremis a post-Brexit trade agreement with , the United Kingdom faced the challenges of its new life on Friday, without the yoke of the European Union, and with only a few days to prepare.
The signing of a historic compromise, after long and arduous negotiations, prevented the worst: a brutal rupture that would have led to tariffs and quotas, and the closure of British waters to European fleets from December 31 at 11:00 p.m. GMT.
However, the exit from the single market and the end of free movement will be a colossal turn for the British, after four and a half years since the Brexit referendum and almost half a century of European integration.
In a video message, Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented the agreement as "a little gift for those looking for something to read over the soporific after-dinner Christmas meal."
"Here it is: satisfactory news, this is an agreement, an agreement to provide security to companies, travelers and all investors in our country as of January 1," the leader congratulated himself.
The agreement sealed with Brussels represents a victory for Johnson, who had this year to prepare for the country's exit from the bloc. The pandemic, however, upset all his plans.
The United Kingdom is one of the countries hardest hit by Covid-19, with about 70 thousand deaths.
With the discovery of a new, more contagious strain, the country was suddenly isolated and thousands of trucks were blocked at the border with the mainland, prompting fears of a lack of supply.
The images of the trucks stranded around the port of Dover gave an impression of what could happen in case of failure in the commercial negotiations with Brussels.
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