BRUSSELS, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the Brexit trade deal clinched with the European Union on Thursday offers the possibility to maintain a strong relationship with the UK and "provides crucial guarantees for fair competition for our companies."

"In the end, there is only one thing that matters to me: ensuring the best possible protection for Belgium's economic interests. We must protect our Belgian companies from unfair British competition," De Croo said in a statement.

"With this agreement, we can put the intense discussions of the past four years behind us. Now we can work on building a new, strong relationship with the United Kingdom, which has always been a historic partner for our country. It is now time to look to the future," De Croo said.

Belgium will start analysing the agreement, De Croo said, as will the other 26 EU member states and the European Parliament. (Reporting by Marine Strauss @StraussMarine; editing by Kate Abnett)