European Parliament approves Brexit trade deal

BRUSSELS, Belgium, April 28 ------ The European Parliament voted Tuesday to ratify the EU's post-Brexit trade deal with Britain, but not without issuing bitter final warnings that trouble lies ahead in cross-Channel ties. The official result of vote was not to be published until Wednesday morning, but the decision was not in doubt. "Today the European Parliament voted on the most far-reaching agreement the EU has ever reached with a third country," the president of the assembly, David Sassoli, said.

"This can form the foundation on which we build a new forward-looking EU-UK relationship," he said, warning that MEPs would monitor the implementation of the deal and "not accept any backsliding from the UK government." "You cannot have the advantages of EU membership while being on the outside. However, this agreement goes a long way to mitigate its worst consequences." The vote ratifies the bare bones trade deal that was sealed on Christmas Eve after nine months of bad-tempered negotiations.

This will provide the framework for Britain's new relationship with the 27-member union, five years after British voters shocked the world by voting to end its 47-year membership. But the EU parliament vote comes amid multiple feuds over the UK's implementation of Brexit agreements and angry finger-pointing about the supply of the Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca. "We know it will not always be easy and there is a lot of vigilance, diligence and hard work ahead of us," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen told a session of parliament ahead of the vote.

Source: gmanetwork.com