SO, what has been agreed in the catchily titled “Joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union”?
Ever since the referendum, the three main areas of contention between Brussels and London have been 1) How much we’ll pay to the EU after Brexit, 2) The rights of European citizens living in the UK and British citizens living in Europe, and 3) The Irish question – how do you leave the single market and customs union without creating a hard border and wrecking the Good Friday Agreement?
The deal, if not quite providing final definite answers for all three of those questions, gives the government breathing space.
READ MORE: First Minister: Better Together’s border scare stories killed off by Brexit deal
On the Irish border, the UK and the EU agree that a future trade deal must protect “North-South co-operation” and hold to the UK’s “guarantee of avoiding a hard border” while promising “full alignment” between British regulations and EU regulation.
Northern Ireland is also promised “unfettered access” to the UK market.
On citizens’ rights, the three million EU citizens currently in the UK are allowed to live and work here – and those already in the country who do not yet have permanent residency are to acquire it after Brexit.
Freedom of movement will continue during the transition period, though new arrivals will have to register.
And on the divorce bill, Downing Street says it will be between £35 billion and £39bn – lower than expected after Brussels dropped the cost of relocating UK-based EU agencies.
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