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A colleague wears a Christmas hat as European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier, center, carries a binder of the Brexit trade deal during a special meeting of Coreper, at the European Council building in Brussels, Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. European Union ambassadors convened on Christmas Day to start an assessment of the massive free-trade deal the EU struck with Britain. After the deal was announced on Thursday, EU nations already showed support for the outcome and it was expected that they would unanimously back the agreement, a prerequisite for its legal approval. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool via AP)
LONDON – First came the Brexit trade deal. Now comes the red tape and the institutional nitty gritty.