Ambassadors from the European Union's 27 nations convened on Christmas Day to start assessing the free trade deal the bloc has struck with former member Britain, a historic accord that takes effect in just a week. In a Christmas message, Johnson sought to sell the deal to a weary public after years of Brexit-related wrangling since the U.K. voted narrowly to leave the EU in 2016. Without a trade deal to set out the terms of their new relationship, tariffs and other impediments would have been imposed on trade between the two sides starting Jan. 1. WATCH | U.K. and EU reach post-Brexit trade deal:U.K., EU reach Brexit trade deal World Video 3:01 More than four years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, a conditional trade agreement has been reached between the two sides. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier leaves the EU Commission for a meeting of the permanent representatives committee in Brussels on Friday.

Source: CBC News December 25, 2020 10:30 UTC