THE European Parliament agreed the EU-UK Trade Co-operation Agreement today, confirming the post-Brexit deal thrashed out between Brussels and London.

A resolution condemning Brexit as a “historic mistake” but supporting the deal as a way of limiting “negative fallout” from it passed by 578 to 51 votes with 68 abstentions. It was agreed by MPs at Westminster on December 30.

“The EU and the UK have created the basis for a relationship among equals,” announced EU Parliament foreign affairs committee chairman Andreas Schieder.

But the agreement has been criticised on the left on both sides of the Channel for maintaining EU restrictions on state aid and public ownership, while failing to prevent attacks on workers’ rights.

Portuguese Communist Party MEP Joao Ferreira said that the deal must not be allowed to prevent bilateral agreements between EU countries and Britain. 

“The United Kingdom left the European Union, by the sovereign decision of its people, which must be respected,” he told the parliament. 

“It has been shown that a departure from the European Union does not necessarily mean either catastrophe or isolation.

“It is possible to establish a close relationship between states, respecting the rights of citizens [and] the sovereignty of each state.” But he added: “We have doubts that this agreement constitutes such a relationship.”

Trade unionists said the agreement did not give a green light to London or Brussels to “behave as they like.”

IndustriALL Europe deputy general secretary Judith Kirton-Darling said: “Various sector-specific agreements are still to be reached, which will have a big impact on our members, and we insist that trade unions are involved in both the ongoing sectoral negotiations and the monitoring and implementation of the overall agreement.”