(VOVWORLD) - The UK and the EU on Friday reached agreements after 6 months of Brexit negotiations, preparing for a second phase of talks on future bilateral relations.
 Flags of the UK (left) and the EU (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
4.5 million EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the EU are allowed to travel between the two and retain the same rights.
The EU and the UK agreed not to reset a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The UK promised to protect the “Good Friday Peace Agreement” signed in 1998 to ensure Ireland’s peace and economic development. Ireland’s nationals living in Northern Ireland retain the same rights as EU citizens.
The two sides agreed a methodology for the financial settlement, which will be calculated in terms of a percentage of the budget for 2014-2020, right after the UK leave the EU.
On Friday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said enough progress had been made in Brexit negotiations to allow a second phase on trade relations with the UK.
The UK proposed a financial settlement with the EU following Brexit, in which the “divorce bill” the UK should pay is 47-52 billion USD. A spokesman of Prime Minister Theresa May said the payment is reasonable.