Europe
Timeline of events in Britain's exit from the European Union
A timeline of key events related to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union:
Jan. 23, 2013: British Prime Minister David Cameron promises a referendum on Britain’s membership in the EU if the Conservative Party wins the next general election. He does so to try to garner support among euroskeptics within his own party, reports AP.
May. 7, 2015: British voters elect a majority Conservative government. Cameron confirms in his victory speech that there will be an “in/out” referendum on European Union membership.
Feb. 20, 2016: Cameron announces that he has negotiated a deal with EU leaders that gives Britain “special status.” He confirms that he will campaign for Britain to remain in the 28-nation bloc. The referendum date is set for June.
Feb. 21: Cameron is struck with a severe blow when one of his closest Conservative allies, the media-savvy Boris Johnson, joins the “leave” campaign.
June 16: One week before the referendum, Labour Party lawmaker and “remain” campaigner Jo Cox is killed by extremist Thomas Mair, who shouted “Britain First” before shooting and stabbing her.
June 23: Britain votes 52% to 48% to leave the European Union.
June 24: Cameron says he will resign in light of the results because Britain needs “fresh leadership” to take the country in a new direction.
July 13: Following a Conservative Party leadership contest, Home Secretary Theresa May becomes prime minister.
March 29, 2017: The British government formally triggers Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, setting in motion a two-year process for Britain to leave the bloc on March 29, 2019.
Also read: Brexit trade talks with EU in ‘serious situation’: Boris Johnson
June 8: A general election called by May to bolster her party’s representation in Parliament to help with the Brexit negotiations backfires. Her Conservative Party loses its majority and continues in a weakened state as a minority government.
July 7, 2018: May and her Cabinet endorse the so-called “Chequers Plan” worked out at a fractious session at the prime minister’s country retreat. The plan leads to the resignations of Brexit Secretary David Davis, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and others who favor a more definitive break with EU.
Nov. 25: EU leaders approve a withdrawal deal reached with Britain after months of difficult negotiations. May urges the British Parliament to back the agreement.
Dec. 10: May delays the planned Brexit vote in Parliament one day before it is set to be held because it faces certain defeat. She seeks further concessions from the EU.
Dec. 12: Conservative lawmakers who back a clean break from the EU trigger a no-confidence vote in May over her handling of Brexit. She wins by 200 votes to 117, making her safe from another such challenge for a year.
Jan. 15, 2019: The Brexit deal comes back to Parliament, where it is overwhelmingly defeated on a 432-202 vote. The House of Commons will end up rejecting May’s agreement three times.
Also read: Last-ditch post-Brexit trade talks to resume between EU, UK
March 21 EU agrees to extended the Brexit deadline, just over a week before Britain's scheduled departure on March 29
April 11: Britain and the EU agree for a second time to extend the withdrawal deadline to keep Brexit from happening without a deal in place. The new deadline is Oct. 31.
June 7: May steps down as Conservative Party leader over the stalled Brexit agreement.
July 23: Boris Johnson elected new Conservative Party leader
July 24: Johnson takes office as prime minister, insisting the U.K. with leave the EU on Oct. 31, with or without a deal.
Aug. 28: Johnson says he will temporarily shut down Parliament until mid-October, giving opponents less time to thwart a no-deal Brexit.
Sept. 3: Rebel Conservative Party lawmakers vote against the government in protest of Johnson’s strategy. They are expelled from the party.
Sept. 5: Johnson asserts he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than ask for another Brexit extension.
Also read: UK says Brexit trade talks with EU are in their ‘last week’
Sept. 9: A parliamentary measure that prevents the U.K. from leaving the EU without a deal becomes law.
Sept. 24: U.K. Supreme Court rules government’s suspension of Parliament was unlawful.
Oct. 10: Johnson and Irish leader Leo Varadkar meet and announce “pathway to a possible deal.″
Oct. 17: U.K. and EU announce they’ve struck a deal after the .K. makes concessions over Northern Ireland.
Oct. 19: Parliament sits on a Saturday and demands to see legislation before approving the deal.
Oct. 22: Johnson puts Brexit legislation on pause .
Oct. 28: Johnson asks the EU to delay Brexit again. The new deadline is Jan. 31.
Oct. 29 Parliament votes for a national election at the request of Johnson', who hopes it will break the Brexit stalemate.
Dec. 12: Johnson wins a large majority in the general election, giving him the power to push through Brexit legislation.
Jan. 23, 2020: EU Withdrawal Bill becomes law.
Jan. 29: European Parliament approves the Brexit divorce deal.
Also read: Brexit: UK sees opportunity to do more with Bangladesh
Jan. 31: U.K. officially leaves the EU at 11 p.m., entering an 11-month transition period put in place for the two sides to negotiate a deal on their future relations.
Dec. 7: After months of U.K.-EU negotiations, Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen say significant differences still stand in the way of a free trade deal.
Dec. 9 Johnson and von der Leyen hold a dinner meeting in Brussels to see whether the differences can be bridged. They don't make a breakthrough but announce negotiations will continue for four more days, setting a Dec. 13 deadline for a final deal or no-deal decision.
Dec, 13: Von der Leyen and Johnson say negotiations will continue, vowing to go the “extra mile” to get a deal.
Dec, 24: The U.K. and EU announce they have struck a provisional agreement, just over a week before the year-end deadline.
Also read: Breakthrough: UK and EU reach post-Brexit trade agreement
UK and EU reach post-Brexit trade agreement
Just a week before the deadline, Britain and the European Union struck a free-trade deal Thursday that should avert economic chaos on New Year's and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.
Once ratified by both sides, the agreement will ensure Britain and the 27-nation bloc can continue to trade in goods without tariffs or quotas after the UK breaks fully free of the EU on Jan 1.
Relief was palpable all around that nine months of tense and often testy negotiations had finally produced a positive result.
The Christmas Eve breakthrough was doubly welcome amid a coronavirus pandemic that has left some 70,000 people in Britain dead and led the country's neighbors to shut their borders to the UK over a new and seemingly more contagious variant of the virus spreading in England.
Also read: Brexit: UK sees opportunity to do more with Bangladesh
“We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny,” declared British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who posted a picture of himself on social media, beaming with thumbs up.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “it was a long and winding road but we have got a good deal to show for it.”
“It is fair, it is a balanced deal, and it is the right and responsible thing to do for both sides,” she said in Brussels.
The 27 EU countries and the British and European parliaments still need to vote on the agreement, though action by the European body may not happen until after the Jan 1 breakup. Britain's Parliament is set to vote Dec 30.
Also read: UK says Brexit trade talks with EU are in their ‘last week’
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, Thursday, Dec 24, 2020. AP photo
France, long seen as Britain's toughest obstacle to a deal, said the uncanny steadfastness among the 27 nations with widely varying interests was a triumph in itself.
“European unity and firmness paid off," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement.
And German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that unity will now probably result in all the EU nations backing the deal: “I am very optimistic that we can present a good result here."
It has been 4 1/2 years since Britons voted 52 percent to 48 percent to leave the EU and — in the words of the Brexiteers’ campaign slogan — “take back control” of the UK’s borders and laws.
It took more than three years of wrangling before Britain left the bloc’s political structures last January. Disentangling the two sides’ economies and reconciling Britain's desire for independence with the EU's aim of preserving its unity took months longer.
Also read: Last-ditch post-Brexit trade talks to resume between EU, UK
The devil will be in the detail of the 2,000-page agreement, but both sides claimed the deal protects their cherished goals. Britain said it gives the UK control over its money, borders, laws and fishing waters and ensures the country is “no longer in the lunar pull of the EU.”
Von der Leyen said it protects the EU’s single market and contains safeguards to ensure Britain does not unfairly undercut the bloc’s standards.
If Britain were to quit the EU with no agreement governing trade, the two sides would reinstate tariffs on each other's goods.
Johnson's government acknowledged that a chaotic no-deal exit — or a “crash-out,” as the British call it — would probably bring gridlock at the country's ports, temporary shortages of some goods and price increases for staple foods. The turmoil could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.
To avoid that, negotiating sessions alternating between London and Brussels — and sometimes disrupted by the pandemic —- gradually whittled differences between the two sides down to three key issues: fair-competition rules, mechanisms for resolving future disputes, and fishing rights.
Also read: Brexit trade talks with EU in ‘serious situation’: Boris Johnson
The EU has long feared that Britain would slash social, environmental and state aid rules after Brexit and gain a competitive advantage over the EU. Britain denies planning to institute weaker standards but said that having to follow EU regulations would undermine its sovereignty.
A compromise was eventually reached on the tricky “level playing field” issues. That left the economically minor but hugely symbolic issue of fishing rights as the final sticking point, with maritime EU nations seeking to retain access to UK waters where they have long fished and Britain insisting it must exercise control as an “independent coastal state."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier address a media conference on Brexit negotiations at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Dec 24, 2020. AP photo
Under the deal, the EU is giving up a quarter of the quota it catches in UK waters, far less than the 80 percent Britain initially demanded. The system will be in place for 5 1/2 years, after which the quotas will be reassessed.
The UK has remained part of the EU's single market and customs union during the 11-month post-Brexit transition period. As a result, many people so far have noticed little impact from Brexit.
On Jan 1, the breakup will start feeling real. Even with a trade deal, goods and people will no longer be able to move freely between the UK and its continental neighbors without border restrictions.
Also read: EU-UK trade talks floundering over fish as cutoff day nears
EU citizens will no longer be able to live and work in Britain without visas – though that does not apply to the 4 million already doing so – and Britons can no longer automatically work or retire in EU nations. Exporters and importers face customs declarations, goods checks and other obstacles.
The UK-EU border is already reeling from new restrictions placed on travelers from Britain into France and other European countries because of the new version of the coronavirus sweeping through London and southern England.
Thousands of trucks were stuck in traffic jams near the port of Dover on Wednesday, waiting for their drivers to get virus tests so they could enter the Eurotunnel to France.
British supermarkets said the backlog will take days to clear and there could be shortages of some fresh produce over the holiday season.
Despite the deal, there are still unanswered questions about huge areas, including security cooperation between the UK and the bloc — with the UK set to lose access to real-time information in some EU law-enforcement databases — and access to the EU market for Britain’s huge financial services sector.
Von der Leyen said she felt “quiet satisfaction,” but no joy, now that the torrid Brexit saga that has consumed Britain and the EU for years is finally almost over.
"I know this is a difficult day for some, and to our friends in the United Kingdom I want to say parting is such sweet sorrow," she said.
Johnson, who staked his career and reputation on extracting the country from the EU, said Britain will always be a strong friend and partner to the bloc.
“Although we have left the EU, this country will remain, culturally, emotionally, historically, strategically, geologically attached to Europe," he said.
20 migrants dead off Tunisia after boat sinks, more missing
About 20 African migrants were found dead Thursday after their smuggling boat, which was trying to reach Europe, sank in the Mediterranean Sea, Tunisian authorities said. Five survivors were rescued and the Tunisian navy is searching for up to 20 others still believed missing, reports AP.
Also read:12 migrants dead, 21 rescued at sea off western Greece
Tunisian coast guard boats and local fishermen found the bodies off the coastal city of Sfax in central Tunisia, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ben Zekri told The Associated Press.
According to the survivors, the migrant smuggling boat was carrying about 40 or 50 people heading toward Italy, Ben Zekri said.
Also read: Spain finds 17 dead migrants, 100 survivors in Mediterranean
The boat was overloaded and in poor condition, and faced strong winds Thursday morning that may have contributed to the sinking, said National Guard spokesman Ali Ayari. It was carrying migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, he told The AP.
Also read: 56,800 migrants dead and missing in 4 years
Tunisian navy units were on the scene to search for any more survivors.
Tunisian authorities say they have intercepted several migrant smuggling boats recently but that the number of attempts has been growing, notably between the Sfax region and the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Also read: 56,800 dead and missing: The hidden toll of migration
Migrant smuggling boats frequently leave from the coast of Tunisia and neighboring Libya carrying people from across Africa, including a growing number of Tunisians fleeing prolonged economic difficulties in their country.
Tunisians have made up the vast majority of migrants arriving in Italy this year, despite efforts by Rome to negotiate with Tunis to put a stop to the crossings. Of the 34,001 migrants who had arrived in Italy so far this year, 12,847 were Tunisian, or 38%. Bangladeshis were the next biggest group, followed by those from Ivory Coast, Algeria, Pakistan and Egypt.
Also read: 37 Bangladeshi migrants feared dead trying to reach Europe: Govt
National isolation: UK strives to end French ban on trucks
Stranded Europe-bound truckers hoped Tuesday to receive the green light to get out of Britain soon, after some of the most dramatic travel restrictions of the pandemic were imposed on the country following the discovery of a potentially more contagious strain of the coronavirus.
More than 1,500 trucks snaked along a major highway in southeast England near the country’s vital Channel ports or crowded into a disused airport, illustrating the scale of Britain’s isolation after countries from Canada to India banned flights from the U.K. and France barred the entry of its trucks for 48 hours beginning Sunday night, reports AP.
For a country of islands that relies heavily on its commercial links with France, that’s potentially very serious — and raised concerns of food shortages if the restrictions weren’t lifted by Wednesday.
Hopes increased over Tuesday that the stranded drivers may soon be able to get on the road again as the European Union’s executive arm pushed for a coordinated response to the travel restrictions on the U.K. The European Commission said people returning to their home countries or main places of residence should be able to do so provided they test negative test for the virus or quarantine.
Though Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said EU countries should work together to “discourage nonessential travel” between the bloc and Britain, he said “blanket travel bans should not prevent thousands of EU and U.K. citizens from returning to their homes.”
The commission added that “cargo flows need to continue uninterrupted.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel told BBC radio that the British government is “speaking constantly” with France to get freight moving again. France has said it wants to lift the ban as soon as possible and is looking at ways of testing drivers on their arrival.
While the French ban does not prevent trucks from entering Britain, many vehicles that carry cargo from the country to the continent return laden with goods. The fear is that will fall off — reducing deliveries to Britain at a time of year when the U.K. produces very little of its food and relies heavily on produce brought from Europe by truck.
Also, some drivers or their employers might decide against entering Britain for fear they won’t be able to get back home.
Also read: UK’s Covid-19 cases reach 390,358
The restrictions were creating a feeling of isolation in Britain akin to what the residents of Hubei province in China at the start of the year or those in northern Italy must have experienced a few months later.
Given that around 10,000 trucks pass through the Dover every day, accounting for about 20% of the country’s trade in goods, retailers are getting increasingly concerned if there is no resolution soon.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, warned of potential shortages of food like lettuce, vegetables and fresh fruit after Christmas if the borders are not “running pretty much freely” from Wednesday.
The problem, he explained, is the empty trucks sitting in England can’t get pick up new deliveries for Britain.
“They need to get back to places like Spain to pick up the next consignment of raspberries and strawberries, and they need to get back within the next day or so, otherwise we will see disruption,” he said.
Also read: Reinfections with COVID-19 "to be expected" : UK scientists
Over the weekend, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed strict lockdown measures in London and neighboring areas amid mounting concerns over the new variant to the virus, which early indications show might be 70% more transmissible.
As a result, Johnson scrapped a planned relaxation of rules over Christmastime for millions of people and banned indoor mixing of households. Only essential travel will be permitted.
Amid questions about whether vaccines being rolled out now would work against the new strain, the chief executive of BioNTech — the German pharmaceutical company behind one of those shots — said he was confident it would be effective, but further studies are need to be completely sure.
Ugur Sahin said Tuesday that “we don’t know at the moment if our vaccine is also able to provide protection against this new variant” but because the proteins on the variant are 99% the same as the prevailing strains BioNTech has “scientific confidence” in the vaccine.
Also read: Covid-19: Global cases surpass 77 million
There are mounting concerns that the whole of the U.K. will be put into a national lockdown after Christmas as new infections soar, including in Wales where 90 soldiers from the British Army will be reenlisted to drive vehicles from Wednesday to support health teams responding to emergency calls.
The British government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, warned Monday that measures “may need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced.” For many, that was code for another national lockdown.
While the new variant is being assessed, countries were trying to limit contact with Britain, even though there is evidence of the strain elsewhere already.
Also read: New COVID-19 variants under the microscope as travel bans mount over UK mutation
In Switzerland, for example, authorities are trying to track an estimated 10,000 people who have arrived by plane from Britain since Dec. 14 — and has ordered them to quarantine for 10 days.
Switzerland was one of the 40-odd countries to ban flights from the U.K. over concerns about the new variant.
The quarantine order is likely to affect thousands of Brits who may have already headed to Swiss ski resorts. Unlike many of its neighbors, Switzerland has left most of its slopes open, attracting enthusiasts from around Europe.
The virus is blamed for 1.7 million deaths worldwide, including about 68,000 in Britain, the second-highest death toll in Europe, behind Italy’s 69,000.
The chaos at the border comes at a time of huge uncertainty for Britain, less than two weeks before it completes its exit from the EU and frees itself from the bloc’s rules. Talks on a post-Brexit trade relationship between the two sides are deadlocked.
Also read: New strain of coronavirus: More EU nations ban travel from UK
EU regulator gives conditional approval to BioNTech-Pfizer COVID vaccine
The European Medicines Agency recommended conditional approval for a coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer to be used across the European Union, weeks after the shot was first granted permission under emergency provisions in Britain and the United States.
Following a closed-doors expert meeting Monday, the EU drug regulator said it was recommending the shot be licensed for use in people over 16 years of age, with some exceptions. The pharmaceutical companies will need to submit follow-up data on their vaccine for the next year.
“This is really a historic scientific achievement," said Emer Cooke, the head of the agency. “It is a significant step forward in our fight against the pandemic.”
Also read- New strain of coronavirus: More EU nations ban travel from UK
The approval needs to be rubber-stamped by the EU's executive branch on Monday evening. a move its chief said is likely to happen Monday evening.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that the EMA's approval was “a decisive moment in our efforts to deliver safe & effective vaccines to Europeans!”
“Now we will act fast. I expect a @EU_Commission decision by this evening,” she said. The EU’s executive arm had been expected to require two or three days to approve the EMA’s decision.
Authorities in Germany and several other European countries have said they hope to begin vaccinating people on Dec 27.
Also Read- EU to greenlight new COVID-19 vaccine contract
“Today is a particularly personal and emotional day for us at BioNTech,” said Ugur Sahin, the company’s chief executive and co-founder. “Being in the heart of the EU, we are thrilled to be one step closer to potentially delivering the first vaccine in Europe to help combat this devastating pandemic.”
“We are standing by ready to start the delivery of initial vaccine doses across the EU as soon as we get the green light,” Sahin said.
The European regulator came under heavy pressure last week from countries calling for the vaccine to be granted approval for use as quickly as possible. EMA originally set Dec 29 as the date for its evaluation of the vaccine made by Germany-based BioNTech, but moved up the meeting to Monday after calls from the German government and other countries for the agency to move more quickly.
The European Medicines Agency met Monday to consider approving a coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer that would be the first to be authorised for use in the European Union. AP Photo
Also Read- EU to start vaccination for COVID-19 on Dec 27
The vaccine has already been given some form of regulatory authorization in at least 15 countries.
Britain, Canada and the US authorised the vaccine to be used according to emergency provisions, meaning the shot is an unlicensed product whose temporary use is justified by the pandemic that has killed almost 1.7 million people worldwide to date, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Switzerland became the first country Saturday to authorize the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine according to the normal licensing procedure. EMA approval also follows the regular process, only on an accelerated schedule and under the condition that the pharmaceutical companies submit follow-up data on their vaccine for the next year.
In a statement last week that appeared to address concerns by some in Europe about the speed of the process, the agency stressed that the vaccine would only be approved after a scientific assessment showed its overall benefits outweighed the risks.
Also Read- Europe an epicenter of COVID-19 right now
“A vaccine’s benefits in protecting people against COVID-19 must be far greater than any side effect or potential risks,” it said.
Scientists are still waiting for more long-term follow-up data to see how long immunity from the vaccines lasts and if there are any rare or serious side effects. Final testing of the vaccine is still ongoing; more information on whether the shot works in children is needed, in addition to its effects in pregnant women.
The vaccine is not made with the coronavirus itself, meaning there’s no chance anyone could catch it from the shots. Instead, the vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognize the spiked protein on the surface of the virus.
On the day Britain began its vaccination campaign, authorities warned people with severe allergies not to get the shot after two people suffered serious allergic reactions; it’s unclear if the reactions were caused by the immunisation.
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A man walks past a closed shop on Regent Street in central in London, Sunday, Dec 20, 2020. AP photo
Also Read- Europe tightens restrictions as virus hospitalisations rise
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that as of Friday they had seen six cases of severe allergic reaction out of more than a quarter-million shots of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine given, including in one person with a history of vaccination reactions.
BioNTech and Pfizer offered the EU 400 million doses of the vaccine, but the bloc's executive Commission chose to buy only 200 million doses, with an option for 100 million more.
The EMA plans to hold a meeting on Jan 12 to decide if the coronavirus vaccine made by Moderna should be licensed. It has reviews ongoing for a shot developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and another from Janssen, but neither of those have made a formal request for the EMA to approve their vaccine.
Also Read- EXPLAINER: Are new coronavirus strains cause for concern?