“Freedom in our hands” Johnson on Brexit: Dawn of New era for UK
A new era has begun for the United Kingdom as the UK stopped following EU rules at 23:00 GMT, as replacement arrangement for travel, trade, immigration and security came into force.
Boris Johnson said the UK had “Freedom in our Hands” and the ability to do things “differently and better” .
The first lorries arriving at the borders entered the UK and the EU without delay., although Stena Line ferries and ports group tweeted that six freight loads travelling from Holyhead in Wales to Ireland on Friday morning had to be turned away for not having the correct paperwork.
The UK officially left the 27-member political and economic bloc on 31 January, three and half years after the UK publicly voted to leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum, but stuck to the Eu’s trading rules for 11 months while the two sides negotiated their future economic partnership agreed on Christmas Eve which became law in the UK ON. WEDNESDAY.
Under the agreement UK manufacturers will have tariff-free access to the EU’s internal market, meaning there will be no import taxes on goods crossing between Britain and the European continent.
The UK and Spain have also reached an agreement meaning the border between Gibraltar and Spain will remain open.
Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar’s chief minister said the deal still needed to be formalised, but by abolishing controls between Gibraltar and the EU’s passport-free Schengen area, he said it would prevent queues at the border which make people’s life a misery and make business difficult.
The Free movement of people between the UK and EU countries has ended and has been replaced in the UK by a “points based”immigration system.
Anyone from the UK who wants to stay in most of the EU for more than 90 days in nay 180-day period now needs a visa.
Duty-free shopping has returned, with people coming back to the UK from the EU would be able to bring up to 42 litres of beer, 18 litres of wine, four litres of spirits and 200 cigarettes without paying tax.
EU citizens waiting to move to the UK (except those form Ireland) face the same points-system as people elsewhere in the world.
UK police have lost instant access to EU-wide databases on criminal; records, fingerprints and wanted persons.
The UK government says EHIC will be replaced with a new UK Global Health Insurance Card. Pets will still be allowed in the EU but it will be a more complicated process as owners will need to obtain a animal health certificate for each trip they make.
UK mobile operators will be able to charge for roaming.
Over the next five-and-a-half years, the UK will gradually gain a greater share of the fish form its own waters.
The UK could choose to ban EU fishing boats from 2026, but the Eu would be allowed to introduce taxes on British fish in response;
There will be no role in the UK for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which is the highest court in the EU.
Disputes that cannot be resolved between UK and the EU will be referred to an independent tribunal instead. It allows the UK to take back control of its laws.
The UK will no longer participate in the Erasmus exchange programme, the EU scheme that helps students in other countries.