Brexit is over. The European Union has adopted an agreement on trade and cooperation

On Thursday, the Council of the European Union announced the adoption of a decision to conclude agreements with the United Kingdom. The agreements between London and Brussels relate to trade and cooperation, as well as information security.

Great Britain has received information about the completion of internal procedures in the European Union. Both agreements have already been published in the Official Gazette and officially entered into force on May 1, 2021.

Today we are opening a new page in our relations with Great Britain. The conclusion of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement will provide legal certainty for the new relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom for the benefit of citizens and businesses on both sides of the channel. In a press release, the representative of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Anna Paula Zacharias, said that we value Great Britain as a good neighbor, long-term ally and important partner.

The European Parliament had previously voted on both agreements. This means that both sides have already completed all formalities in the process of Great Britain leaving the European Union.

Earlier, the UK shut down all domestic procedures even earlier. Queen Elizabeth signed the Law on Relations with the European Union on December 31, 2020. The so-called Royal Consent was the last step in implementing agreements with Brussels into British law.

Britain theoretically withdrew from the European Union at the beginning of 2020. In practice, an 11-month transition period began in February, giving the parties time to finalize the details of a future trade agreement. It was this agreement that was adopted by the Council of the European Union at the end of April.

The process of leaving the United Kingdom from the European Union began in 2016, when 52 per cent were in favor of leaving the European Union in a referendum. Brits. Since then, the UK prime minister has changed twice and the country’s exit date has been postponed twice.