Brexit breakthrough

But leaders warn some difficult hurdles still need to be overcome

British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker arrive for a news conference about a historic Britain-European Union separation deal in Brussels on Friday.

The United Kingdom and the European Union announced a historic separation deal on Friday after half a year of tough negotiations.

Both sides said the agreement marks “sufficient progress” that could pave the way for a second stage of talks about the future relationship between them after the UK leaves the union in March 2019.

The agreed points, set out in a 15-page text, include stipulations that there be no hard border between the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and that the citizens of both EU countries and the UK, in their respective territories, be protected.

The two sides also agreed on the way to calculate the “divorce bill” and the fact that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until the end of 2020.

Details of the agreement will be discussed on Dec 14-15, when European leaders gather in Brussels for their winter summit. They will endorse whether the Brexit talks, which began in June, can be moved to the second stage.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, standing in front of UK and EU flags for a morning briefing with journalists on Friday, explained how their negotiating teams had removed hurdles after intensive talks overnight.

“The commission has just formally decided to recommend to the European Council that sufficient progress has now been made on the strict terms of the divorce,” said Juncker. But he warned the agreed terms still “need a lot of work” before being finalized.

May said the talks process in recent days “hasn’t been easy for either side” but said they had struck an agreement that was “a significant improvement”.

She said the deal on the financial settlement was “fair for the British taxpayer”. It is expected that the UK will need to pay around 50 billion euros by the end of 2020.

“In Northern Ireland, we guarantee there will be no hard border,” May added.

Expecting to move to the second phase, she said trade talks will provide “clarity and certainty for businesses in the United Kingdom and the European Union”.

May also met European Council President Donald Tusk. Tusk said the sufficient progress both sides had made allowed him to present the draft guidelines to the European Council.

Tusk proposed that both sides should start negotiating the transition period, so that people and businesses have clarity about their situation.

He said the UK has asked for a transition period of about two years, while remaining part of the single market and customs union.

“And we will be ready to discuss this, but naturally, we have our conditions,” added Tusk.

He said the UK would respect EU law, budgetary commitments, and judicial oversight during the transition.

However, he said the UK would not be able to participate in decision-making among the EU’s remaining 27 members during that period.

Tusk warned that the most difficult challenge still lies ahead, calling Friday’s progress May’s “personal success”.

“We all know breaking up is hard,” said Tusk. “But breaking up and building a new relationship is much harder.”