According to the BBC, on December 24th local time, Britain and the European Union reached a historic agreement on Britain-Europe trade and security relations after Brexit.
At a press conference after the agreement was reached, European Commission President von der Leyen said that Britain and the European Union were “long-term allies”.
Von der Leyen said first, “We finally reached an agreement. The road was long and rugged, but we finally reached a good deal.” Von der Leyen called the agreement “fair” and “balanced”, and it was “right and responsible” for both sides to reach an agreement at the last minute.
At the press conference, von der Leyen promised that the rules and standards of the European Union will still be respected and the competition rules of both sides will be maintained.
At the same time, the UK and the EU will continue to maintain cooperation in various fields, such as climate change, energy, security, transportation, etc.
On the issue of fishing rights, which had attracted much attention before, von der Leyen said that fishing rights in British waters had been agreed in five and a half years.
In addition, von der Leyen stressed that the UK and the EU are “long-term allies” and that “we have common interests, whether it is the COP26 Climate Conference, the G7, the G20, etc.” She said that the UK and the European Union will continue to stand “shoulder to shoulder”.
