After half a century of EU membership and a three-and-a-half year battle to uphold the 2016 referendum result, Brexit has finally happened. Britain left the European bloc on Friday evening, regaining its sovereignty and independence.  However, there are still many questions left unanswered over the country’s future trading relationship with the EU and the rest of the world.

Britain and Brussels have only 11 months to negotiate a free trade agreement and avoid a hard exit when the transition arrangements expire at the end of 2020. 

According to many eurocrats, including EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, securing a comprehensive deal within that timeframe will  be an “impossible” task.

But the stakes were further raised by the Government’s move to rule out by law an extension of the post-Brexit transition period last December. 

Mr Johnson claims the deal the UK will aim for will be “on the model of a super Canada plus arrangement”. 

Canada’s free trade deal with the EU, known as CETA, which came into provisional effect in 2017, took seven years to negotiate and runs almost 1,600 pages. 

It will take several more years to implement fully. 

In an interview with Express.co.uk, though, ex-Conservative MEP and founding President of the Initiative for Trade Daniel Hannan explained why Mr Johnson will have no problem in striking an FTA with the bloc.

He said: “It is worth saying that the EU has committed to doing this.

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“It is amazing how europhile media here will give uncritical coverage to any eurocrat, even if they say it on the record.

“On the record, in the political declaration, as a binding commitment by the EU there is a best endeavours clause that says ‘we will have all of this done so it can come into effect by the end of 2020.’

“It does not say that it will be agreed by 2020. 

“And the political declaration goes on to say that pending ratification by the 27 parliaments, the commission will apply this deal on an interim basis.

“Not only it is technically feasible.

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“It is a formal undertaking by the EU.

“To show how it is easy we did exactly such a deal with Switzerland.

“We covered free movement, financial services, free trade aviation, in five months.”

According to a recent report by the Guardian, negotiations on the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU will officially start on March 3. 

A leaked internal document from the EU member states, seen by the Guardian, notes that without a deal by the end of December 2020, there will be a “cliff edge” in many areas and “no return to the status quo”.

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