AP Explains: Why are UK and EU still arguing over Brexit?

LONDON (AP) — It’s more than four years since Britain voted to leave the European Union, and almost a year since Prime Minister Boris Johnson won an election by vowing to “get Brexit done.”

Spoiler alert: It is not done. As negotiators from the two sides hunker down for their final weeks of talks on an elusive trade agreement, Britain and the EU still don’t know whether they will begin 2021 with an organized partnership or a messy rivalry.

“A deal is the likelier case now, but I wouldn’t be banking the house on it yet,” said trade expert David Henig, U.K. director at the European Centre for International Political Economy.

Here’s a look at where things stand:

HASN’T BRITAIN ALREADY LEFT THE EU?

The U.K. has quit the now 27-nation bloc politically, but not economically.

Britain’s June 2016 vote to leave was followed by protracted talks on divorce terms. When then-Prime Minister Theresa May finally struck an exit deal with the bloc, Britain’s Parliament repeatedly vetoed it.

May finally resigned in defeat last year. Her successor, Johnson, secured his own withdrawal agreement with the EU in October 2019, allowing for the U.K. to leave on Jan. 31.

The two sides gave themselves an 11-month transition period to strike new agreements on trade, security and a host of other areas. When that period ends on Dec. 31, Britain will leave the EU’s economic embrace after decades of membership.

WHAT HAPPENS ON JANUARY 1?

With or without a deal, Britain will leave the EU’s customs union and single market for goods and services, and will no longer have unfettered access to its biggest trading partner.

The two sides are hoping to agree a free trade deal with no tariffs and no quotas. Even if that happens, the British government says businesses must prepare...