Thursday, European and British negotiators finalized a post-Brexit trade deal, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced during a press conference.

"It was a long and winding road, but we have a good deal at the end of it," she said.

January, Britain formally left the EU following the 2016 referendum, making it the first country to split from the political and economic project that was born as the continent rebuilt in the aftermath of World War II, according to AFP.

London however, remains tied to EU’s rules during the transitional period which will run until midnight Dec. 31, when the UK will leave the EU’s single market and customs union.

The announcement of a deal finally came following days of intense ‘back and forth’ between von Der Leyen and British PM Borish Johnson.

A UK government source claimed that the “deal is done,” adding that it was “the biggest bilateral trade deal signed by either side, covering trade worth £668 billion ($909 billion, 747 billion euros) in 2019".

After the post-Brexit deal was finalized, von der Leyen said “the UK remains a trusted partner,” which will, in hand, cushion the harsh economic blow following the UK’s imminent departure from the single market after 10 months of negotiations.

“We have taken back control of laws and our destiny,” said Johnson at a press conference, adding that the EU will remain an ally, a supporter and will never be forgotten.

- 'Solid foundations' -

The finalized 2,000 page agreement was held up by disputes over fishing as both sides argued over the access that EU fishermen will get to Britain’s waters after the end of 2020.

According to von der Leyen, the UK will become a “third country," adding that the agreement benefits British interest and will set solid foundations for a long term friendship.

This “means we can finally put Brexit behind us” and Europe can continue to progress and move forward, said von der Leyen.

Johnson insisted that the final agreement will not be “a bad thing, and that the UK will remain a dynamic and prosperous ally on the EU’s doorstep.

Leaders around Europe expressed relief following the deal. Irish premier Michael Martin described the accord as the “least bad version of Brexit possible.” According to AFP, Ireland would have been hard hit by a no-deal Brexit.

“There is no such thing as a ‘good Brexit’ for Ireland. But we have worked hard to minimise the negative consequences,” said Martin.

On the other hand, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she remained "confident" that the deal was a "good outcome" as it now goes over to EU member states to agree.

- EU ratification -

Following the trade deal, von der Leyen’s commission will send the text to the EU member states for them to analyze the agreement and to decide whether to approve its provisional implementation. The process is expected to take around two or three days.

The UK parliament will have to interrupt the holidays to vote on the deal before the Dec. 31 cut-off.

Once the deal is signed off and the text published in the EU's official journal, it will become binding and will go into effect on the first day of 2021, after Britain has left the EU single market.

The European Parliament will then have a chance to retrospectively approve the deal in 2021, speaker David Sassoli said.

Assuming the process goes as planned, the negotiating teams will have agreed the mammoth deal in record time, according to AFP.