the “No deal” therefore, it was avoided. The United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) announced on Thursday, December 24, that they had reached an agreement on their post-Brexit trade relations. However, there is barely a week left in London and Brussels to ratify this 2,000-page free trade agreement, the transitional period of which ends on December 31. Voting by the leaders of the 27 member states, debates in the British and European parliaments … Here is the calendar of the different stages that remain to be fulfilled before the final approval of this agreement.

December 25: European ambassadors examine the text

First stage in the implementation of the treaty: validation by the European Council. Ambassadors from the 27 member states met at 10:30 am on Friday to begin reviewing the text. “U.S [leur] asked to be available during the Christmas period “, has explained On twitter (Content in English) one of the spokespersons for the Committee of Permanent Representatives, which prepares the work of the Council. These discussions between ambassadors will take “several days”.

At the end of this preparatory work, the European Council will vote on the text, which must be adopted by a qualified majority. In theory, this step should not be complicated, depending on Political (article in English). to “European Director” quoted by the site explains that the veto of the 27 European leaders is not expected, because “the first reactions[à l’annonce de l’accord] they were positive “.

December 30: British Parliament votes on the deal

The treaty must also be validated by the British Parliament. The speaker of the House of Commons called the deputies to meet during an exceptional session on December 30 at 9:30 am to vote on the text. The House of Lords will meet the same day, starting at noon.

The deal is expected to pass Parliament without difficulty, with Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party holding a majority in the House of Commons. The leader of the Labor Party, Keir Starmer has also announced that he would support this treaty even before reading it, Politico notes. The deputy explained that he preferred to vote for this text, rather than face a “No deal”, who would have “terrible consequences” for the UK.

January 1: the treaty enters into provisional application

On the European side, Parliament has already warned that it would be unable to ratify the treaty before the end of the year. During the European Council vote, EU leaders will agree on a request “provisional” of the text, while MEPs vote on it. “During this provisional period, the terms of the agreement enter into force exceptionally, until it is ratified “, explains Aurélien Antoine, professor of public law at the Jean-Monnet University of Saint-Étienne (Loire) and founder of the Brexit Observatory, in The cross (article for subscribers). According to Politico, the European Commission has proposed that this deadline be extended until February 28.

From January: the European Parliament studies the text a posteriori

Therefore, MEPs will study this free trade agreement when the parliamentary session resumes in January. To prepare for the debates, the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, called a meeting with the leaders of the different political groups on December 28. “Parliament regrets that the duration of the negotiations and this agreement reached at the last minute do not allow an in-depth study [du texte] before the end of the yearhe said in a statement, quoted by Politico. Parliament will continue its work in the corresponding committees and in plenary session before deciding whether to approve it at the beginning of the year. “

“Once the treaty is concluded, however, you can think that things will go fast. It will take some time for discussion, but it can be done in one day, there are emergency procedures.”, emphasizes the specialist TOurélien Antoine in the columns of The cross.

The European Parliament cannot modify the text, only ratify or reject it, remember BFMTV. In the event of a negative vote, trade relations between the EU and the UK will be governed by the rules of the World Trade Organization, which impose in particular customs duties and administrative restrictions.

However, David Sassoli said the treaty would likely pass, adding that MEPs “It will act responsibly, to minimize inconvenience to citizens as much as possible and prevent chaos from a ‘No deal’“.