LONDON/BRUSSELS: Britain clinched a narrow Brexit trade deal with the European Union on Thursday, just seven days before it exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire.
The deal means it has swerved away from a chaotic finale to a tortuous divorce that has shaken the 70-year project to forge European unity from the ruins of World War Two.
“Deal is done,” a Downing Street source said. “We have taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters.
“We have delivered this great deal for the entire United Kingdom in record time, and under extremely challenging conditions... all of our key red lines about returning sovereignty have been achieved.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the deal was fair, balanced and right.
While the last-minute deal prevents the most acrimonious ending to the saga on January 1, the UK is set for a much more distant relationship with its biggest trade partner than almost anyone expected at the time of the 2016 referendum.
A deal had seemed imminent for almost a day, until haggling over just how much fish EU boats should be able to catch in British waters delayed the announcement of one of the most important trade deals in recent history.
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