USA TODAY International Edition
EU approves Brexit agreement; now it’s up to Britain to sign off
European Union leaders signed off Sunday on Britain’s exit from the continent’s political and economic bloc, sending the divorce agreement to the U.K. Parliament and a contentious debate over passage.
The agreement, negotiated over several months, has drawn skepticism from Brexit supporters and foes in England.
“This is the best deal possible,” European Commission President JeanClaude Juncker warned after the vote. “This is the only deal possible.”
If Britons thought they could press for a better deal, they would be disappointed, Juncker said.
British Prime Minister Theresa May stressed that the deal returns control of
her nation’s borders, money and laws to Parliament. She urged members of parliament to approve the plan when they vote Dec. 12.
May pledged to campaign “with my heart and soul to win that vote ... for the good of our United Kingdom and all of our people.”
“I will take this deal back to the House of Commons confident we have achieved the best deal available and full of optimism about the future of our country,” May said.
May has declined to announce whether she would resign if her Brexit deal fails. She won the support of her bitterly divided Cabinet for a draft deal last week after months of stalled talks and setbacks.
Even the minister who led the negotiations, Dominic Raab, refused to support the deal and resigned last week. Raab said he could not support the deal “in good conscience” because it “presents a very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom.”
The deal calls for the U.K. to pay the EU about 39 billion pounds as part of the separation. It also allows EU citizens and their families to live and work in the U.K. until the end of the transition period in December 2020. Those who take up residence before that date will be allowed to remain permanently if they stay for five years.
A transition period for businesses delays some major changes until 2021. Tariffs and other trade regulations still must be worked out.
Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London who was a driving force behind the successful Brexit referendum in 2016, called the terms of the deal a “historic mistake.” He said too much power remains in EU hands under terms of the deal and suggested that half the buyout money be withheld pending a free-trade agreement.
Britain voted to leave the EU 52 percent to 48 percent. Some polling data indicate that if there were a second Brexit vote a majority would choose to stay in the EU. May has repeatedly rejected the idea of holding a second vote.
“Ahead of us is the difficult process of ratification as well as further negotiations,” EU President Donald Tusk said in announcing the deal. “But regardless of how it will all end, one thing is certain: we will remain friends until the end of days, and one day longer.”
“I will take this deal back to the House of Commons confident we have achieved the best deal available and full of optimism about the future of our country.”