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EU Ratifies Trade Deal with Britain

VOA News

   The European Parliament has ratified a post-Brexit trade deal with
   Britain.

   Results announced Wednesday showed EU lawmakers supporting the pact
   with a vote of 660 votes in favor and five against, with 32 members
   abstaining.

   The vote was the final step in a years-long process of defining trade
   terms between Britain and the remaining 27 members of the European
   Union.
   Members of European Parliament, David McAllister, Andreas Schieder,
   Christophe Hansen and Bernd Lange participate in a media conference
   after a debate on the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement at the EU
   Parliament in Brussels, April 27, 2021.

   European Council President Charles Michel welcomed the voteWednesday,
   saying it "marks a major step forward in EU-UK relations and opens a
   new era."

   The two sides had been operatingunder the terms of the trade agreement
   on a conditional basis since late December while awaiting the European
   Parliament's approval.

   The Brexit process began with a 2016 referendum in which British voters
   chosetoleavethe EU.Britain had been a member since 1973, and after
   several delays, officially exited the EU in January 2020.

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