On Monday, representatives of the remaining 27 EU members convened to approve the deal in a vote also attended by EU negotiator Michel Barnier.
"Ambassadors have unanimously approved the provisional application of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement as of January 1, 2021," Germany's spokesman Sebastian Fischer said, as cited by the Associated Press, Report states,
The deal can now be applied provisionally as the agreement is yet to receive a green light from the European Parliament, with the vote on it expected in late February.
On December 24, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Commission, after months of difficult negotiations, reached an agreement on future cooperation, including trade. The deal requires the approval of EU countries and ratification by the European Parliament and the British Parliament.