EU, UK agree on outline Brexit deal
- 17 Oct 2019
European Union and British negotiators have agreed on an outline Brexit deal which still needs to be backed by EU member states and by the respective parliaments.
Brexit talks go down to the wire ahead of EU summit
Last-gasp Brexit deal set to dominate fraught EU summit
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that Britain and the European Union had agreed a "great" new Brexit deal and urged lawmakers to approve it at the weekend.
Protesters march in favour of an EU deal. File photo
"We've got a great new deal that takes back control," Johnson said in a tweet.
"Now parliament should get Brexit done on Saturday so we can move on to other priorities like the cost of living, the NHS, violent crime and our environment."
European Union and British negotiators have agreed on an outline Brexit deal which still needs to be backed by EU member states and by the respective parliaments.
Brexit deal is essentially impossible ever Downing Street source
Brexit deal still possible this week but more and more difficult: Branier
EU Brexit chief negotiator Michel Barnier: revised withdrawal agreement answers the 'uncertainty' created by Brexit.
Hours before a summit of all 28 EU national leaders, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted: "We have one! It's a fair and balanced agreement for the EU and the UK and it is testament to our commitment to find solutions."
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that the two sides had struck a "great new deal" and urged U.K. lawmakers to ratify it in a special session on Saturday.
Immediately complicating matters was Johnson's Northern Irish government allies which didn't waste a minute to say they could not back the outline deal because of provisions for the Irish border.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted "We have one! It's a fair and balanced agreement for the EU and the UK and it is testament to our commitment to find solutions."
Now parliament should get Brexit done on Saturday (Oct19). File photo
Juncker said he would recommend the 27 EU nations to endorse the deal during their summit later Thursday.
An election for Gibraltar's 17-seat parliament is taking place under a cloud of uncertainty about what Brexit will bring for the speck of British territory on Spain's southern tip.
Johnson needs all the support he can get to push any deal past a deeply divided Parliament and will surely temper jubilation at the EU summit. The UK parliament already rejected a previous deal three times.
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says in a letter that member nations should back the Brexit deal agreed early on Thursday and that the 27 member states are "best served by an orderly and amicable withdrawal of the United Kingdom from our Union."
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks in the UK Parliament. File photo
He adds: "Our hand should always remain outstretched as the United Kingdom will remain a key partner."
"I believe it is high time to complete the withdrawal process and move on as swiftly as possible to the negotiation on the European Union's future partnership with the United Kingdom," he said in a letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk Thursday.
Even if the United Kingdom leaves by the of the month, both sides will have to negotiate a new trade agreement for years to come.
Europeans vote with EU future in balance
The international operations of online gambling companies, whose operations account for around 25% of Gibraltar's economy, need access to the EU market.
The Socialist Labour Party is seeking a third consecutive term in government in Thursday's ballot.
Results are expected early on Friday.
