一名親歐盟的示威者在倫敦會議中心外豎起橫幅，12月4日，貿易談判就在這裡舉行。
英國與歐盟達成協議
企業繼續享有優待進入歐盟市場
隨著時間的流逝，英國和歐盟終於在脫歐過渡期結束前一周達成了一項自由貿易協議，距離英國舉行具有裡程碑意義的公投脫離歐盟已經過去了四年半。
想·
英國首相鮑裡斯·詹森(Boris Johnson)稱讚該協議為英國企業繼續享有免關稅和免配額進入龐大的歐盟市場的途徑，同時兌現了2016年英國退歐運動的承諾。
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the agreement as a way for the country's businesses to continue to have tariff-free and quota-free access to the massive EU market while delivering on the promise of the 2016 Brexit campaign.
「我們已經重新掌控了我們的法律和我們的命運，」詹森在唐寧街10號說。「英國法律將完全由英國議會制定. ...。我們將能夠制定自己的標準。」
"We've taken back control of our laws and our destiny," said Johnson, speaking from No. 10 Downing Street. "British laws will be made solely by the British Parliament. ... We will be able to set our own standards."
即使在完成了英國脫離歐盟的最後時刻，詹森也表示:「我們將是你們的朋友、盟友和支持者。」
在布魯塞爾，歐盟委員會主席烏蘇拉·馮·德萊恩(Ursula von der Leyen)進行了更深入的思考。她說，她通常在談判結束時感到高興，但這次她感到寬慰，甚至有些傷感。
「離別是如此甜蜜的悲傷，」馮·德萊恩引用英國最著名作家的話說。「對所有歐洲人來說，」她補充說，「是時候把英國退歐拋在腦後了，我們的未來是在歐洲創造的。」
"Parting is such sweet sorrow," said von der Leyen, quoting Britain's most famous author. "To all Europeans," she added, "it is time to leave Brexit behind, our future is made in Europe."
脫歐之後，
短期困難，但遠期明朗
上周末，在一種新冠病毒變種在倫敦和英格蘭東南部傳播後，法國關閉了與英國的邊境。科學家認為，這種變種的傳染性要大得多。邊境關閉讓英國政府措手不及，數千輛卡車滯留在多佛港附近。法國周三重新開放了邊境，但表示，旅客和卡車司機——其中大多數是歐洲人——不能穿越英吉利海峽，除非他們的冠狀病毒檢測呈陰性。
新的貿易協議被稱為「硬脫歐」，這意味著英國和歐盟經濟將不再擁有他們享受了幾十年的緊密監管聯盟。經濟學家們表示，即使達成了該協議，未來10年英國的人均收入仍將比英國留在歐盟時低6.4%。
The new trade deal is what is known as a hard Brexit, meaning the British and EU economies will no longer have the close regulatory alignment they've enjoyed for decades. Economists say that even with the deal, Britain's per capita income will be 6.4% lower over the next decade than it would've been if the U.K. had remained part of the EU.
詹森堅稱，從長遠來看，脫歐對英國有利。他說，這將使英國能夠與美國和中國等其他主要經濟體談判獨立的自由貿易協議，而不受歐盟總部布魯塞爾的官僚主義、法規和集體決策的阻礙。
Johnson insists that leaving the EU will benefit the U.K. in the long run. He says it will allow Britain to negotiate independent free trade deals with other major economies, such as the United States and China, unencumbered by the bureaucracy, regulations and collective decision-making in Brussels, where the union is headquartered.
作為歐盟的一部分，英國公司可以在沒有關稅或海關檢查的情況下與歐洲順利進行貿易，就好像它們是在同一個國家一樣。但歐盟成員國身份的一個代價是，歐盟公民可以免籤在英國境內生活和工作。正是在對移民問題感到焦慮的情況下，英國選民在2016年震驚了世界，投票決定離開歐盟。
英國今年大部分時間處於過渡期，過渡期將於12月31日結束。隨著海關管制和新程序在歐盟邊境生效，港口的中斷和滯留很可能會隨之而來。
為了儘量減少延誤，英國政府告訴英國卡車司機，他們必須獲得進入肯特郡的許可。肯特郡是多佛港和英吉利海峽歐洲隧道的所在地。
該協議仍需下周得到英國議會的批准。預計歐洲議會將於下月追溯批准該協議。但這項協議即將結束當代英國歷史上最動蕩的一章。
The U.K. has spent most of this year in a transition period, which ends Dec. 31. Disruptions and backups at ports are could well follow as customs controls and new processes come into force at EU borders.
To minimize delays, the British government has told U.K. truckers that they will have to obtain a permit to enter the county of Kent, home to the Port of Dover and the Eurotunnel on the channel.
The deal still requires approval by the British Parliament next week. The European Parliament is expected to approve the deal retroactively next month. But this agreement begins to draw to a close one of the most tumultuous chapters in contemporary British history.
脫歐的影響將持續
英國脫歐推翻了戴維·卡梅倫和德蕾莎·梅伊兩位首相，引發了英國議會的混亂，削弱了英國的經濟和世界地位。在加入歐盟數十年後，這個擁有近6700萬人口的島國將自力更生。歐盟的宗旨是在兩次世界大戰後促進和平與繁榮。許多政治分析人士對這一舉動表示懷疑，認為這是一個主要民主國家多年來最大的自我傷害之一。
Brexit toppled two prime ministers — David Cameron and Theresa May — caused chaos in the U.K. Parliament and weakened the country's economy as well as its standing in the world. After decades in the European Union, which was designed to promote peace and prosperity after two world wars, the island nation of nearly 67 million people will strike out on its own. Many political analysts are skeptical of the move and view it as one of the greatest self-inflicted wounds by a major democracy in many years.
影響可能遠未結束。蘇格蘭投票反對英國退歐，許多蘇格蘭人覺得他們被撕扯出歐盟違背了自己的意願。英國脫歐和英國政府對新冠肺炎疫情處理不當，為蘇格蘭獨立提供了支持。
蘇格蘭首席大臣尼古拉·斯特金周四在推特上寫道:「沒有任何協議可以彌補英國脫歐給我們帶來的損失。」「作為一個獨立的歐洲國家，現在是時候規劃我們自己的未來了。」
"There is no deal that will ever make up for what Brexit takes away from us," tweeted Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Thursday. "It's time to chart our own future as an independent, European nation."
英國退歐事件最終結束的時機尤其糟糕。英國仍在與疫情作鬥爭，這場疫情已經造成69000多人死亡，是歐洲死亡人數最多的國家之一。今年英國的國內生產總值預計將下降11%。這將是1709年霜凍以來的最大降幅，當時歐洲大部分地區的氣溫驟降，毀壞了農作物，導致法國數十萬人死亡，經濟遭受重創。
The ultimate timing of the end of the Brexit saga is especially bad. The U.K. continues to grapple with the pandemic, which has killed more than 69,000 people — one of Europe's highest death tolls. Gross domestic product in Britain is expected to fall by 11% this year. That would be the largest drop since the Great Frost of 1709, when temperatures plunged in large parts of Europe, destroying crops, killing hundreds of thousands of people in France and devastating economies.
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