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Foreign Minister Maas on the EU Council Decision on the Withdrawal Agreement
Foreign Minister Maas on the approval of the EU member states to the provisional application of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom from January 1, 2021:
On January 1st we say “Hello, Goodbye” to the United Kingdom. With the end of the transition period, the United Kingdom will be effectively leaving the European single market and the customs union. At the same time, we will enter into our new comprehensive partnership.
On the final stretch of our EU Council Presidency, we pulled out all the stops over the holidays to ensure that the partnership agreement with the United Kingdom can be provisionally applied from January 1, 2021. I am pleased that all 27 EU member states have given their approval today. By joining forces, we have succeeded in preventing a chaotic turn of the year. At the same time, we are buying the European Parliament more time for a close scrutiny of the agreement in the new year.