UK and EU negotiators have agreed on a Brexit deal

UK and EU negotiating teams have agreed on a Brexit withdrawal deal which Prime Minister Theresa May will present to her Cabinet on Wednesday.

The UK government confirmed reports that May's most senior ministers would read the details of the draft agreement on Tuesday evening before a special Cabinet meeting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

An agreement between the UK and EU over how to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland as a result of Brexit was reached during intensive negotiations held on Monday and Tuesday, sources told Business Insider.

Brexit talks had for weeks been at an impasse over the question of how a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic could be avoided no matter the outcome of negotiations.

UK and EU negotiators agreed that there would be a UK-wide "backstop" if they fail to negotiate a trade deal that negates the need for border checks on the island of Ireland before the end of the two-year Brexit transition period.

The backstop will take the shape of a UK-wide customs union with the EU, with Northern Ireland sticking to some of the European single market. This would guarantee no border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

However, the backstop is set to come not with a fixed end date, as demanded by pro-Brexit MPs, but with a "review clause" for deciding when it can end.

Brexiteers are concerned that this arrangement will leave the UK trapped in a customs union with the EU for years to come, unable to sign new free-trade deals. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the European Research Group of pro-Brexit Conservative MPs, said the deal amounted to a "failure to deliver on Brexit" and would make a "vassal state" of Britain.

His Conservative colleague Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, described the draft deal as "unacceptable," adding, "For the first time in a thousand years, this place, this Parliament will not have a say over the laws that govern this country."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party would "look at the details" of the deal, "but from what we know of the shambolic handling of these negotiations, this is unlikely to be a good deal for the country."

He added: "Labour has been clear from the beginning that we need a deal to support jobs and the economy — and that guarantees standards and protections. If this deal doesn't meet our six tests and work for the whole country, then we will vote against it."

The breakthrough in negotiations means EU leaders might be able to ratify the deal at a summit in Brussels later this month. EU ambassadors are set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the next steps in the Brexit process.

The pound rose 1.4% against the dollar on the news on Tuesday.

Picture: pixabay.com

Source: Business Insider

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