BRUSSELS — European and British negotiators struck a deal Thursday to split Britain from the European Union, raising the prospect that the country could be out of the bloc by the end of October.
Negotiators working through the night in Brussels agreed on the draft Thursday morning after Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed on despite lingering questions about the warring factions in London. The agreement will still need approval by European leaders and the British Parliament.
“We’ve got a great new deal that takes back control — 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,” Johnson tweeted, referring to the National Health Service.
British lawmakers passed a law requiring Johnson to ask to delay Brexit past the Oct. 31 deadline if a deal to ease the exit isn’t in place by Saturday.
“Where there is a will, there is a #deal - 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,” wrote European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, the leader of the Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party, Arlene Foster, said she could not back the current proposal.
Johnson chose to push forward despite failing to get the party on board, raising the prospect that it could quickly fall apart in London, as a previous deal did under Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May.
If there is a vote on the deal in Parliament on Saturday, Johnson will face a huge showdown. Since becoming prime minister, Johnson’s working majority has gone from one to minus 43, meaning he will need the support of other parties to get the deal approved.
“As things stand, we could not support what is being suggested,” said Foster, once a key member of Johnson’s dwindling coalition, in a statement before the deal was announced.
The statement still stands, spokesman for the party said.
[E.U. rejects Boris Johnson’s Brexit proposal, raising prospect of chaotic break within weeks]
If Johnson isn’t able to bring the Northern Ireland party onside, then he would need support from other parties, which seemed unlikely. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, said that from what was known, the deal agreed on Thursday was an “even worse deal” than May’s. He said that the “best way to get Brexit sorted is to give the people the final say in a public vote.”
Diplomats said before the announcement that it would be possible — just barely — to get a deal Thursday ratified by the European Parliament by the end of the month, giving Johnson a strong incentive to wrestle his warring political tribes into submission.
One senior E.U. official said that Johnson told the Europeans that he could get a deal ratified in Britain in just six days.
Diplomats now expect E.U. leaders who are gathering later Thursday to discuss the deal and potentially to give it a non-binding green light.
Then Johnson would likely seek to gain approval from his Parliament on Saturday — no certain thing.
But if he succeeds, the European Parliament would need to ratify the agreement, after which E.U. leaders would sign on one final time, this time in a binding manner.
“Discussions over the past days have at times been difficult. But we have delivered, and we have delivered together,” said E.U. chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.
Johnson told Juncker that he “has faith in his ability to convince the majority he needs in the House of Commons,” Barnier said.
Under the deal, Britain would depart the European Union but would continue to apply E.U. rules until the end of 2020 in a transition period that would soften the split. E.U. and British negotiators would try to hammer out a trade deal and other elements of their future relationship in the meantime. The transition period could be extended up to two years if both sides agree.
According to people briefed on the talks, Johnson was willing to make a slew of concessions in the interest of fulfilling his promise to get Britain out of the European Union this month.
The trickiest part of the talks always centered on the border between the Republic of Ireland, which remains in the European Union, and Northern Ireland, which is leaving the E.U. along with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Borderless movement has been a key part of the Good Friday Agreement that ended decades of violence in the region, but it was challenged by Brexit.
Elements of the new deal crossed red lines that previous British leaders have said would be impossible. British authorities will have to conduct customs checks in the Irish Sea for goods moving inside their own country as Northern Ireland will remain locked into most E.U. regulations and trade rules.
But the E.U. also made significant concessions that it had previously said were impossible. After four years, Northern Ireland lawmakers would have a vote on whether they wanted to stay so closely aligned with the European Union.
If they decline, that would likely require a hard border, something the E.U. had previously refused to countenance.
A gap in some sales tax rates between the European Union and Britain could potentially lead to smuggling, which E.U. leaders worry about.
Booth reported from London. Karla Adams in London contributed to this report.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/brexit-deal-falters-raising-chances-british-leader-boris-johnson-will-have-to-ask-for-delay/2019/10/17/f1ce287e-f049-11e9-bb7e-d2026ee0c199_story.html
2019-10-17 11:30:00Z
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