This article was written by Damian and published in this week's Petersfield Post and Herald editions:
"It’s now three weeks since the UK ended its transition period with the European Union, having secured a trade deal with the EU and delivered on the result of the 2016 referendum. As we adjust to this new relationship with our neighbours, it is worth reflecting on what it means for us going forward.
Although the running public debate on whether we should or shouldn’t leave the EU was settled, agreeing the terms of our future relationship was always going to be tough.
It was not a surprise that negotiations went down to the wire. It was inevitable that the most sensitive and difficult areas would still be on the table in the final days, and the fixed end point of the transition period certainly kept hearts and minds focused on finding a way through. ‘No deal’ was not in the interests of either side. But the deal struck is better than many thought possible.
The awful and protracted impact of the virus certainly kept Brexit off many of the front pages during 2020, but the delivery of a trade deal of this magnitude in this timeframe is an immense achievement for both sides, even though we were of course starting from a shared and common base.
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement is made up of three pillars - a free trade agreement covering the economic and social partnership (including transport, energy and mobility), a framework for cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities across civil and criminal matters, and an overarching governance arrangement.
Britain is now out of the single market and customs union, and also outside the jurisdiction of the European Courts of Justice. The unique situation of Northern Ireland is recognised in the special arrangements for it, which mean no border either across the island of Ireland or down the Irish Sea.
There are zero tariffs and zero quotas on the trading of goods. There is no commitment to regulatory alignment, but there is an approach agreed that delivers what would be its key benefits for trade, without the loss of sovereignty it would imply.
This goes further than any other EU trade deal with a so-called 3rd country, and this achievement should not be understated. It is particularly important for some sectors, including the farming community here in East Hampshire.
Clearly we also need so-called trade ‘friction’ to be minimised, and this rightly will be a matter for close parliamentary scrutiny in the time ahead. As ever, friction minimisation is important for European companies – and especially for example German, French, Belgian and Dutch ones – as it is for ours.
Some areas still need to be developed, for instance on financial services, data adequacy requirements and mutual recognition of professional qualifications. Focusing on these in the months ahead will be important, not only for some of our key sectors but also for the opportunities it affords individual citizens from the UK but also from Europe.
There are common principles to inform both sides’ subsidy control systems, a mutual commitment on labour and social protections, and a similar approach on environmental issues, with for instance commitments to maintain the planned reduction of Green House Gases and to a system of carbon pricing.
The UK continues to lead the way on tackling climate change, and de-coupling from the EU will not change that effort or priority. The UK and the EU will each have their own independent energy and climate policies, but will continue to co-operate when it is in their mutual interest to do so.
UK science and research will be eligible for the new Horizon Europe scheme – due to run from 2021 to 2027, and the UK will also participate in various other EU programmes. The UK will no longer participate in the Erasmus student exchange programme, but will establish an alternative, wider programme called the ‘Turing’ scheme.
The new Turing scheme will fund around 35,000 study, work placement and exchange places, with an aim to also improve access for a broader range of young people. There are good reasons to strengthen academic and cultural ties both within and beyond Europe.
The referendum campaign and its aftermath were very divisive times in our country, sometimes horribly so. We needed to get an exit agreement that would deliver – fully – on the outcome of the referendum, but which also retained key advantages of our close trading, security and cultural ties with our near neighbours.
As the Prime Minister said, we are still part of Europe and that relationship remains very important to us. But we are also a wholly sovereign state, able to determine our future more freely than before, heralding a new era for the UK and our place in the world. "
