LONDON – Approval of a trade agreement between Britain and the European Union was being rushed through the British Parliament in just one day on Wednesday, a hasty conclusion to a Brexit saga that divided the British and convulsed its policy for more than four years.
The House of Commons overwhelmingly endorsed the Brexit trade agreement by 521 votes to 73, sending it to the House of Lords, Parliament’s second chamber, where ratification is also expected later in the day.
Lawmakers, reminded of their vacation to the task, approved the deal after considering more than 1,200 pages of dense legal text that will shape the relationship between Britain and continental Europe in the coming decades and bring about the greatest change in trade ties. of the country in recent history.
Despite the lack of time for scrutiny, the ease with which the deal was passed in the House of Commons contrasted sharply with many sharp votes taken before last year’s general elections, when Parliament was paralyzed because of Brexit.
The trade agreement, signed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday, came after 11 months of tortuous negotiations and provides Britain’s tariff-free access to European markets. The entry into force is scheduled for Friday.
At this point, Britain will leave the European Union’s single market and customs union, breaking economic integration with the bloc formed in recent decades as part of a huge commercial area. Britain formally left the bloc’s political structures in January, but chose to remain under its economic rules until the end of the year, pending a trade agreement.
Conservative lawmakers, including a bench of hard-line Brexit supporters, came together around Johnson’s deal, which won an overwhelming victory in the general election last December, after promising a relatively distant economic relationship with the bloc and prioritizing the national sovereignty.
Even the opposition Labor Party has ordered its lawmakers to support the agreement on the grounds that it is better than nothing, although several have said they would refuse to vote for an agreement that creates new barriers to trade with European nations.
Critics note that Johnson’s deal guarantees little for Britain’s important service sector and means more bureaucracy for British companies exporting to continental Europe that will have to make millions of additional customs declarations.
But Johnson achieved his political goal by increasing the country’s ability to exercise its sovereignty and make decisions without being restricted by European Union institutions, such as the Court of Justice.
“Having taken back control of our money, our borders, our laws and our waters when leaving the European Union on January 31, we now take this opportunity to forge a fantastic new relationship with our European neighbors, based on free trade and friendly cooperation, ”Said Mr. Johnson when opening the debate in Parliament.
Some lawmakers are angry at the speed with which they were asked to make a decision on Brexit – a policy that aimed to restore power in the British Parliament.
But on Wednesday, Parliament was effectively presented with a choice to take it or leave it. Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labor Party, described Johnson’s deal as a “fine deal” with many flaws, but added that “a fine deal is better than no deal.”
Voting against this would lead to a chaotic break with the bloc later in the week, while supporting the deal would provide a basis for building a better relationship, he added.
The agreement received provisional approval from the European Union and a vote in the European Parliament is expected next month. The deal was signed by Johnson on Wednesday afternoon, so action by Parliament not to approve the document would plunge the country into legal limbo.
Provided it is approved by the House of Lords, the process is expected to be completed around midnight.
The deal has many critics. Trawler fleet representatives have accused Johnson of giving in to the European Union because of fishing rights, and business leaders are concerned about the additional costs and administrative burdens resulting from the deal and the fact that little has been achieved for the service sector, which it accounts for about four fifths of the British economy.
While the European Union exports more goods to Britain than it imports, the reverse is true with services.
Among those who said they would support the deal, but with reservations, was Theresa May, the former prime minister who lost her job after failing on several occasions to persuade Parliament to support her plan to withdraw Britain from the block.
Ms. May attacked the Labor Party for opposing the 2019 bill and pointed out gaps in Johnson’s deal.
“We have a trade agreement that benefits the EU, but not a services agreement that would benefit the United Kingdom,” she said.
Ian Blackford, the leader of Scottish National Party lawmakers in the British Parliament, said the deal would mean “mountains of more bureaucracy” for exporters.
But Brexit supporters praised the prime minister, focusing more on sovereignty than on the economy.
William Cash, a conservative lawmaker who spent his career opposing European integration, described the deal as a “real turning point in our history” and said that Johnson “saved our democracy”.