AFTER years of wrangling over Brexit, a trade deal has finally been struck between Britain and the EU.
Britain will leave the transition period and enter a new period of trading with the EU – and other nations around the globe.
So what happens next, and when will Brexit Britain finally begin?
TODAY
Boris Johnson will hold a press conference this afternoon to formally unveil the deal.
He will answer questions and likely go through some of the things that will be in it.
But at 2,000 pages long, he probably won’t go into the detail.
DEVIL IN THE DETAIL
Next the text will have to be published – likely on the EU Commission and the UK Government’s websites.
MPs, world leaders, and the general public will be able to pour through the thousands of pages to get into the detail of what has been agreed between both sides.
RUBBER STAMPING
Next the deal will be provisionally agreed by Member States – but they do have the power to veto it.
EU27 ministers and diplomats on the Council can decides whether to provisionally apply a deal or not – and it can be adopted by written procedure rather than an in-person vote.
MEPs can then vote on final ratification early next month.
British MPs will also be recalled to Parliament – likely to be on December 30.
The progress will take 48 hours to do, so it’s likely to happen after Christmas.
They will get a vote to sign off on the Brexit legislation, and have a debate in Parliament on the context.
But because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis – and with many MPs in their constituencies – it’s likely that MPs will be allowed to vote remotely or by proxy.
All the necessary law tweaks and statutory instruments – many of which don’t need a vote – will then likely take place on December 31.
Britain will formally leave the transition period at 11pm on December 31 – and the new trading relationship with Brussels and other countries around the world can formally begin.
