The UK and the EU managed to avoid a sharp break without an agreement and agree on how they will live, trade, and cooperate after December 31. 

The delegations led by Michel Barnier and David Frost, who have been bickering all this year almost to no avail over the basic principles of the future agreement, have made a final breakthrough in recent weeks and nevertheless agreed on the text, the BBC reported.

Everything that was promised to the British in the 2016 referendum and in the general election has been realized in this deal, the UK government said in a statement.

The UK government says the deal covers trade worth £668bn in 2019.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, have been holding intensive telephone conversations in recent days, sorting out the details that the delegations could not agree on.

The agreement concerns relations between the EU and the UK in trade, transport, fisheries, energy, security cooperation, and other areas.