EU leaders agree on UK agreement on Brexit at Brussels summit

An agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and its future relations has been supported by EU leaders after 20 months of negotiations.

The 27 leaders gave their support after less than an hour of discussion in Brussels, saying that this opened the way for the "orderly withdrawal" of the United Kingdom.

The agreement must be approved by the British Parliament, with many deputies opposed.

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that they should know that "it is the only possible deal".

The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, had first announced the news of the agreement on Twitter.

It follows more than 18 months of negotiations between the two parties, which began when the UK triggered Article 50 following the 2016 referendum vote.

The UK must leave the EU on March 29, 2019.

The British Parliament is expected to vote on the agreement in early December, but its approval is by no means guaranteed. Labor, Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the DUP and many Conservative MPs will vote against it.

Prime Minister Theresa May called on the public to subscribe to the agreement, saying it was the best deal she could have reached – and honors the Brexit referendum result.

What did the EU decide?

EU leaders approved the two key Brexit documents:

• The EU withdrawal agreement: a legally binding 585-page document setting out the terms of the UK's exit from the EU. It covers the UK's "divorce bill", the rights of citizens and the "support" of Northern Ireland – a way to keep the Irish border open, if trade negotiations take place. ; interrupt

• The political declaration, which defines the relations that could exist between the United Kingdom and the European Union after Brexit – describing how trade and security between the United Kingdom and the European Union will work

There was no formal vote on Sunday, with the EU proceeding by consensus.

In a one-page document confirming its decision, the European Council said the agreement would pave the way for the "orderly withdrawal" from the UK and that it wanted a relationship "as close as possible "in the future.

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said it was a "sad day" and that no one should "lift champagne flutes" at the prospect of leaving the UK.

He said that MPs who would decide how to vote should keep in mind that "it's the best deal possible … it's the only deal possible".

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Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite has said that if the British Parliament rejects the agreement, including the extension of negotiations or another referendum, the Lithuanian Parliament may have several solutions.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the European leaders made it clear that even though they were not happy with the UK's exit, it was the best and the best. only offer offered.

What happens next?

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Mrs May will now have to convince the members of the British Parliament to support him.

She is expected to spend the next fifteen days crisscrossing the country trying to sell the deal before a parliamentary vote in the second week of December.

If members refuse to agree, a number of things could happen, including leaving without any agreement, an attempt at renegotiation or a general election.

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Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said parliamentary arithmetic "looked tough" and warned that "nothing could be ruled out" if Ms. May lost the vote, including the fall of government.

He explained to Andrew Marr of the BBC that the UK was getting "between 70% and 80%" of what he wanted, while the deal "mitigated" most of the negative economic impacts.

Asked that the UK would be better off than it was inside, he said the country would not be "noticeably worse or better, but that meant we were recovering our independence" .

The agreement will also have to come back to the European Council, where a majority of countries (20 out of 27) will have to vote in favor.

It will also have to be ratified by the European Parliament at a vote scheduled for early 2019.

What do Ms. May's critics say?

Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said he would find it "very, very difficult" to support the deal as it stands.

"I do not believe that, until now, this agreement respects what the British people really voted for," he told Sky's Sophy Ridge broadcast. "I think that he gave in too much control."

The head of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon – who wishes to remain in the European Union – said that it was "a bad deal" and that the Parliament should consider "better solutions such as the maintenance of the single market and the customs union on a permanent basis.

And the trade union leader Democrat Arlene Foster – who wants to leave the EU – said that her party's parliamentary pact with the Conservatives would be reconsidered if MEPs approved the deal.

She told Andrew Marr of the BBC show that the agreement in place would leave Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK "still within European structures without any right to look at its rules".

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who supports another referendum, said the deal was "a sleep", while the shadowy Secretary of Justice, Richard Burgon, said it was "deadly". Was acting out of an "unhappy, half-cooked deal, which was the worst of all worlds".