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EU, U.K. reach draft deal on post-Brexit relationship
Why is it in news?
- The British government’s Brexit process reached another milestone as the European Commission said that the U.K. and the EU had agreed at a negotiator level and in principle the draft political declaration on the future relationship between the two sides.
- While observers continue to pick apart the statement — which has been leaked to U.K. media — to assess whether the government’s ambitions set out by the U.K. have been enmeshed in it, the development marks a symbolic victory for Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of a summit on Sunday.
- In the summit EU leaders are set to finalise and formalise details of both the exit process and outline of future relations.
- Controversy over the terms of the withdrawal agreement led to several ministerial resignations and letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister, though an initiative to oust her through formal party processes appears to have been abandoned for now, for want of support from backbench MPs.
Frictionless trade
- The 26-page document has not been officially published though the Guardian newspaper published a leaked draft on its website.
- It appeared to suggest that Brexit would fail to deliver the frictionless trade with Europe that many had envisaged.
- The declaration established the parameters of an “ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership”.
- However, in one section on checks and controls at the border, the agreement pointed to arrangements that could lead to a “spectrum of different outcomes for administrative processes as well as checks and controls, and note in this context their wish to be as ambitious as possible, while respecting the integrity of their respective markets.”
Source
The Hindu