Boris’s Christmas Brexit sermon delivers a curate’s egg

Facts4EU.Org’s initial assessment: Good in parts, some gaping gaps, some fearful fibs

It’s Christmas Day – do you want the festive UK Government spin? Or the facts - good and bad?

We suspect that most people in the country would like to believe the Prime Minister’s televised statement yesterday. No-one wants to read bad news on a day like today. Perhaps that's why the mainstream media have this morning published information which simply isn’t true. We have to say this, based on the documents so far released by the EU.

Here was the PM yesterday

(The separate link is here.)

Goodness knows, the country has barely been allowed to have a state-proscribed, de minimus Christmas. Maybe people need to celebrate a Brexit trade deal at the end of exactly four-a-half gruelling years since the largest mandate in British electoral history instructed the Government to take us out of the European Union.

Caveat: The newly-renamed “Trade and Cooperation Agreement” has not yet been published. As ever, the devil will be in the detail. What follows is based on the very limited information published by the EU yesterday.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

So let’s start with the good news

The fastest major trade agreement in EU history
No role for EU courts in the governance of the Agreement
Zero tariffs, zero quotas - the best that could have been hoped for on trade in goods
Customs to be simplified using trusted trader scheme (“Authorised Economic Operators”)
Flights and freight haulage to continue – albeit limited
UK can set its own taxes
European Health Insurance Card, pensions, etc to continue
Streamlined processes for extradition of criminals
No commitment to the massively expensive Erasmus+ programme
No commitment to cooperation on foreign policy, external security, and defence

“That’s the good news from Brussels – now for the sprouts.”

The above quotation is how the PM ended his televised statement yesterday. What follows, however, is what he did not say. First we must make a serious point to correct the Prime Minister’s statement yesterday.

“We have taken back control of laws and our destiny. We have taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation. In a way that is complete and unfettered. From Jan 1 we are outside the customs union, and outside the single market.”

No, Prime Minister, this is simply not true. The EU has partitioned the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland will remain under EU law and will remain in the Single Market and Customs Union. In addition, Gibraltar has been completely excluded from this Agreement because of the Spanish government’s intransigence.

Furthermore, you have not rescinded the disastrous Withdrawal Agreement, which places all manner of onerous and completely unacceptable demands on the UK.

Turning to the ‘Trade and Cooperation Agreement’ itself

For transparency, we will quote from the official EU Commission documents released yesterday evening. These are the EU’s summaries, NOT the full-length ‘Trade and Cooperation Agreement’ which has not yet been published. Nevertheless, these quotations come from the official EU documents.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Excerpts from the EU's documents on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement

“Both parties have committed to ensuring a robust level playing field by maintaining high levels of protection in areas such as environmental protection, the fight against climate change and carbon pricing, social and labour rights, tax transparency and State aid, with effective, domestic enforcement, a binding dispute settlement mechanism and the possibility for both parties to take remedial measures.”
“The Withdrawal Agreement remains in place”
“In addition, the Agreement does not cover any decisions relating to equivalences for financial services.”
“UK financial services firms will lose their financial services passports.”
“Nor does it cover possible decisions pertaining to the adequacy of the UK’s data protection regime, or the assessment of its sanitary and phytosanitary regime for the purpose of listing it as a third country allowed to export food products to the EU. These are and will remain unilateral decisions of the EU and are not subject to negotiation.”
“There will be no more mutual recognition of professional qualifications.”
“… as the UK has decided to leave the Customs Union, checks will apply to all goods traded.”
“The Agreement therefore commits the EU, its Member States and the UK to continue to protect and give domestic effect to fundamental rights, such as those set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).”
“… a breach by one party that concerns a specific economic sector will allow the other party to retaliate with measures in other economic sectors. Finally, any substantial breach of obligations enshrined as ‘essential elements’ of the Agreement (the fight against climate change, respect for democratic values and fundamental rights, or non-proliferation) can trigger the suspension or termination of all or part of the entire EU-UK Agreement.”

IMPORTANT : The EU gave no detail in its documents about fishing quotas so we must wait for formal confirmation, but this doesn't look good.

Observations

You'd think we might have given ourselves Christmas Day off

The Brexit Facts4EU.Org team has now been working seven days-a-week for five years. At various times in that period it looked as though the Leave vote was going to be overturned. On a positive note, therefore, let's note that a Brexit of sorts has finally been achieved.

When the documentation for the new ‘Trade and Cooperation Agreement’ is published, we will start to wade through its 1,500 pages. All we have tried to do above, on this Christmas Day morning, is to provide some basic information.

We felt compelled to do so after reading the accounts in the newspapers and on the broadcast media.

Maybe we should have simply wished all our readers a merry Christmas instead. So, if you skipped through the article above, we wish you a very merry Christmas!

Do you have anything left in your Christmas present pot? It only takes a minute to make a donation to keep us going. You will not read anything anywhere else on this Christmas Day morning like the factual analysis above. If you value the presence of a hard-working and independent team, researching, analysing, and publishing essential information, please help us with a little present now. Quick, secure, and confidential donation links are below this article or you can click on our Donations page. We need you. Thank you so much.

[ Sources: EU Commission | No.10 ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Christmas Day, 25 Dec 2020

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Reader Comments 9

1. William Pentelow , Friday, December 25, 2020, 07:59:

Not ALL good but we will be out, but honestly, you could not have expected an honest deal from the weasel Boris and the EU mafia.
Have a great Christmas and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the fantastic job you have done.

2. Not4EU, London , Friday, December 25, 2020, 08:52:

A merry Christmas to all at Facts4EU and its readers.
_
And Lo! As it was foretold in the great 'Policitian's Bible of Deceit & Spin', a great announcement was made, after years of working out how to hide the reality within the words, with little time to spare for scrutiny or debate & enabling a fast-tracked, enforced ratification of the largest Constitutional change in our country in years. So it came to pass. Little Johnny (LJ) was in the audience...
BJ: We have agreed an historic deal. We have left the Single Market & Customs Union. We are an independent, sovereign country once more...
LJ: What about N. Ireland? Is it true that we can't send some things there now, as we can elsewhere in the UK? You know, like seed potatoes or taking pets?
BJ: Well, yes. N.Ireland is still in the SM & CU so has to obey EU rules and we must respect the EU's control over NI...
LJ: So we're not really independent yet...
BJ: Ahem.
LJ: What did Vonder Lying mean by repeating the threat of blockading NI in the future now that you've removed the clause to protect us?
BJ: Err...As I was saying, we have taken back control. We will be leaving on 31st December & there's been no extension to transition.
LJ: What about fishing?
BJ: Well, we're agreeing a period of 5.5 yrs to help EU fishermen adjust...
LJ: They've had 4.5 yrs already. Can our fishermen fish in their waters in this transition?
BJ: Err...
LJ: Are they paying via licences for this?
BJ: Err...
LJ: Have you applied the reductions to the EU fleet quotas as the EU have done in their waters?
BJ: Err...
LJ: What did Vonder Lying mean when she said that there are 'robust incentives' to ensure that they will retain these rights at the end of transition?
BJ: Err...
LJ: So we do have a transition...

3. Not4EU, London , Friday, December 25, 2020, 08:53:

BJ: *cough* Well as I was saying, we have taken back control of our laws, bo...
LJ: What about Northern Ireland?
BJ: SECURITY!
As little Johnny is dragged out he can be heard yelling 'What about State aid? What is this green marxist stuff? What do these protections mean for our laws? What about...'
BJ: Ahem. I have concluded the most wonderful agreement...

4. Concerned , Friday, December 25, 2020, 08:55:

Yes thank you for a fantastic job, so as I suspected it is Brexit in name only. There are so many holes in this as to be a joke. I hope it is possible for Parliament and Lords to not agree to this so-called new treaty as it is a sell-out with all the advantages it seems to me for the EU.

5. Judith Shires , Friday, December 25, 2020, 09:47:

Its difficult to explain how disappointed I am after reading this article. What can be done now, even voting it down. Would that make the slightest difference?

6. Zerren Yeoville , Friday, December 25, 2020, 20:56:

You don't need 2,000 pages to say 'We're free!'
You do need 2,000 pages to say 'Ha-ha, you can't possibly grasp and understand ALL of this legal jargon and bureaucratic bafflegab. Dance for us, little puppet! We still own you!'

7. UK Politics Time for Change , Friday, December 25, 2020, 22:55:

10 years from our vote to having our fishing waters back is simply unbelievable. I hope Sir John Redwood, Sir Bill Cash, Peter Bone and crew have enjoyed their day but are taking it all in over the next couple of days. One of the biggest voices..Mark Francois has disappeared? Thanks for your dedicated work. Seasons Greetings!

8. L Jones , Saturday, December 26, 2020, 17:35:

The timing of all this pantomime is what shows it up to be what it is. Just that - a pantomime. A charade.
It's not really surprising that Johnson doesn't care about losing the faith of all the people who 'lent' their votes to him, in the hope that he'd be honourable. He isn't, and I doubt very much if he actually gives a t*ss about them and their livelihoods and whether or not they think he is dishonourable. If he loses their support - what matter? He won't ''allow'' another GE anyway. Not as we know it.

9. Jaybee , Saturday, December 26, 2020, 23:40:

Wonder if he will take up sailing?

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