EU, UK agree on terms of Brexit transition deal

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

A transition period that will follow the official date of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the EU has been agreed, the chief Brexit negotiators of the EU and the U.K. said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference, the EU negotiator Michel Barnier said the transition period will end on Dec. 31, 2020 and the U.K. will obey the EU rules and regulations until that date without any participation in EU’s decision making policies.

Calling the development as a “decisive step,” Barnier said: “The transition will be of limited duration.”

He revealed a color-coded draft legal text showing agreed and still-to-be-agreed parts but added that the both sides are committed to the principles agreed back in December last year.

The EU negotiator said the sides have agreed on the rights of 4.5 million EU citizens in the U.K. and the 1.2 million U.K. citizens in the EU.

After Brexit, Barnier said, the EU nationals arriving in the U.K. during the transition will receive the same rights as those living already there.

He also confirmed the regulatory alignment solution for Ireland will be part of withdrawal agreement as a backstop option but added that it will apply unless another solution is found.

Also speaking alongside Barnier, British Secretary of State for Withdrawal from the EU David Davis said: “Today marks a significant step in the Brexit process.”

He said both sides have worked hard to agree a time-limited implementation period.

Davis underlined that the transition period is not only about providing certainty for the short-term, but also about allowing the U.K. to begin preparing for life outside the EU.

The delegations from both sides will continue to reach a full agreement on the legal text after reaching agreement on the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the U.K., the U.K.’s right to negotiate future trade deals with non-EU countries and Gibraltar-related matters.

The terms of an agreement on the transitional period is expected to be signed off by EU leaders at a summit this week.

The U.K. will leave the EU on March 29, 2019, ending its membership to the block after more than 40 years of membership.