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EU lawmakers label Brexit deal "thin"

Friday, 15 January 2021 1:37 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 15 January 2021 1:37 AM ]

Jerome Hughes
Press TV, Brussels

EU lawmakers describe the Brexit deal reached last month between Brussels and London as thin. They claim the full consequences of Brexit will not become apparent until the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control.

EU legislators continue to pore over the details of a trade agreement reached between the 27-nation bloc and Britain on the 24th of December. During a debate on the subject in the European Parliament, the deal was repeatedly branded "thin."

Lawmakers highlight how the agreement doesn't say anything about foreign policy, security and defense cooperation. Financial services, environmental standards and student exchange programs are not mentioned either.

Brexit and the EU's handling of various crises, including the current pandemic, clearly illustrate why the bloc needs to undergo fundamental reforms, it has been suggested.

Red tape surrounding imports of food from the EU into the UK is leading to a growing number of empty shelves in British supermarkets.

Questions still abound as to whether Brexit might encourage Scotland and Northern Ireland to break away from the UK. EU lawmakers are set to vote on the trade deal at the end of next month or perhaps March even though it is already in place.

If Britain prospers, will other countries opt to leave the EU, rendering the project dead? It is clearly too soon to assess the full economic consequences of Brexit.

Some lawmakers have made the point, the true scale of the Brexit impact will not become clear until the current pandemic recedes. In this regard, it's claimed, COVID-19 is actually acting as a shield for authorities in Brussels, but perhaps particularly in London.

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