EU endorses Brexit deal

May to face opposition when she states her case in UK parliament

BRUSSELS: In a bittersweet landmark, European Union leaders approved an agreement on Britain’s departure next year – the first time a member country will have left the 28-nation bloc.

It took leaders a matter of minutes at a summit in Brussels to endorse a withdrawal agreement that settles Britain’s divorce Bill, protects the rights of UK and EU citizens hit by Brexit and keeps the Irish border open.

They also rubber-stamped a 26-page document laying out their aims for future relations after Britain leaves in March.

Barely half an hour after leaders sat down, European President Donald Tusk tweeted: “EU27 has endorsed the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on the future EU-UK relations.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May, waiting in the wings as the other leaders met, joined them once they had given the deal the seal of approval to discuss the next steps on the road to Brexit.

Mark Rutte

May has hailed the deal as the start of a new chapter for Britain, but European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the UK’s departure was a tragedy.

“It’s a sad day,” Juncker said as he arrived.

He told reporters that deal was “the best possible,” but the summit “is neither a time of jubilation nor of celebration. It’s a sad moment, and it’s a tragedy.”

The agreement paves the way for Britain’s smooth departure from the bloc from the EU side, though a bumpy ride still awaits in the UK.

May now faces a struggle to get the deal in front of pro-Brexit and pro-EU British lawmakers, with large numbers on both sides of the debate opposing the divorce deal and threatening to vote it down when it comes to the House of Commons next month.

May used a post-summit news conference to make a sales pitch for the deal, telling television viewers at home that it was the “only possible deal”, offering control of UK borders and budgets while maintaining close cooperation with EU regulations that was good for business and the security of the broader region.

“In any negotiation, you do not get everything you want,” May said.

“I think the British people understand that.”

Parliament’s vote could open the door to a “brighter future” or condemn the country to more division.

“I will make the case for this deal with all my heart,” she concluded, declining to answer whether she would resign if parliament rejects it.

In a formal statement endorsing the deal, the leaders called on EU institutions “to take the necessary steps to ensure that the agreement can enter into force on 30 March 2019, so as to provide for an orderly withdrawal.”

The UK is due to leave the EU at midnight Brussels time on March 29.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said now that the first phase was done, Britain and the EU needed to work for “an ambitious and unprecedented partnership.”

“Now is the time for everybody to take their responsibility – everybody,” he said.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the deal – the product of a year and a half of often gruelling negotiations between Britain and the EU – was regrettable, but acceptable.

“I believe that nobody is winning. We are all losing because of the UK leaving.

“But given that context, this is a balanced outcome with no political winners,” Rutte said. — Agencies

I believe that nobody is winning. We are all losing because of the UK leaving.