North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale has this morning given a `cautious welcome` to reports of a new deal on Brexit.
He said: “We shall need to study the fine print carefully and of course any revised Withdrawal Agreement will have to secure the elusive majority in the House but if an agreement has been reached that can prevent us from crashing out of the EU with damaging consequences then that is good news.”
The European Commision says it has recommended the European Council (Article 50) to endorse the agreement reached at negotiator level on the Withdrawal Agreement, including a revised Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland, and approve a revised Political Declaration on the framework of the future EU-UK relationship.
The Commission also recommends that the European Parliament give its consent to the agreement. This follows a series of intensive negotiations between the European Commission and UK negotiators over the past few days.
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 #GetBrexitDone #TakeBackControl
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 17, 2019
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, said: “This agreement is a fair compromise between the EU and the UK. It is testament to the commitment and willingness of both sides to do what is best for EU and UK citizens. We now have a newly agreed Protocol that protects peace and stability on the island of Ireland and fully protects our Single Market. I hope that we can now bring this over the line and provide the certainty our citizens and businesses so deserve.”
Northern Ireland will remain aligned to a limited set of rules related to the EU’s Single Market in order to avoid a hard border,
The main change in the Political Declaration relates to the future EU-UK economic relationship where the current UK government has opted for a model based on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The Political Declaration provides for a FTA with zero tariffs and quotas between the EU and the UK. It states that robust commitments on a level playing field should ensure open and fair competition.
Next steps
It is for the European Council (Article 50) to endorse the revised Withdrawal Agreement in its entirety, as well as approve the revised Political Declaration on the framework of the future relationship.
Before the Withdrawal Agreement can enter into force, it needs to be ratified by the EU and the UK. For the EU, the Council of the European Union must authorise the signature of the Withdrawal Agreement, before sending it to the European Parliament for its consent.
The United Kingdom must ratify the agreement according to its own constitutional arrangements.
Brexit is due to come into force on October 31.
