Leaders of the European Union gathered in Brussels have endorsed an agreement on Britain's departure from the 28-nation bloc. But British PM Theresa May still needs to get the deal approved by the UK parliament.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
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Leaders of 27 European Union nations on Sunday endorsed an agreement detailing the terms and conditions on which Britain will leave the bloc on March 19, 2019.
"EU27 has endorsed the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on the future EU-UK relations," European Council President Donald Tusk announced on Twitter.
Later, Tusk posted another tweet saying that despite "the difficult process of ratification" and negotiations to come, the EU and Britain would always remain friends.
The proposed deal outlines how Britain can keep close to the EU market after a two- to four-year transition. The treaty also covers financial matters, citizens' rights and Brexit's impact on Northern Ireland, and sets out hopes for future security and trade ties between the EU and Britain.
Negotiations continued up to the last minute on the 585-page withdrawal agreement, which has drawn fierce criticism from euroskeptics as well as pro-EU politicians in Britain.
But Tusk urged all EU countries to approve the deal, which was forged after 17 months of tough negotiations. Tusk said that terms that had been agreed with Britain would "reduce the risks and losses" once Brexit is complete.
Britain is leaving the European Union, but who exactly is directing the drama? DW takes a look at the people involved in the messy divorce.
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Britain's embattled skipper: Theresa May
May became prime minister after David Cameron resigned from the post in the wake of the Brexit referendum vote in June 2016. Despite her position, she has struggled to define what kind of Brexit her government wants. Hardliners within her Conservative party want her to push for a clean break. Others want Britain to stay close to the bloc. The EU itself has rejected many of May's Brexit demands.
The leader of the British Labour Party has no formal role in the Brexit talks, but he is influential as the head of the main opposition party. Labour has tried to pressure the Conservative government, which has a thin majority in Parliament, to seek a "softer" Brexit. But Corbyn's own advocacy has been lukewarm. The long-time leftist voted for the UK to leave the European Community (EC) in 1975.
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Britain's boisterous Brexiteer: Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson's turbulent two years as UK foreign secretary came to an abrupt end with his resignation on July 9. The conservative had been a key face for the Leave campaign during the 2016 referendum campaign. Johnson disapproves of the "soft Brexit" sought by PM May, arguing that a complete break from the EU might be preferable. He became the second Cabinet member within 24 hours to quit...
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Britain's cheery ex-delegate: David Davis
David Davis headed Britain's Department for Exiting the EU and was the country's chief negotiator in the talks before he quit on July 8, less than 24 hours before Downing Street announced Boris Johnson's departure. Davis had long opposed Britain's EU membership and was picked for the role for this reason. Davis was involved in several negotiating rounds with his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier.
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Britain's former Brexit secretary: Dominic Raab
Raab replaced Davis in early July 2018. But he only lasted four months, resigning a day after Theresa May presented a draft withdrawal plan to her cabinet. Raab previously worked for a Palestinian negotiator in the Oslo peace process and as an international lawyer in Brussels advising on European Union and World Trade Organization law.
Jeremy Hunt was Britain's Health Secretary until he replaced Boris Johnson as foreign secretary in early July 2018. The 51-year-old supported Britain remaining in the European Union during the 2016 referendum, but said in late 2017 that he had changed his mind in response to the "the arrogance of the EU Commission" during Brexit talks. He has vowed to help get Britain a "great Brexit deal."
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Britain's firebrand: Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage was the leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) until July 2016. Under his stewardship, the party helped pressure former Prime Minister David Cameron into calling the EU referendum. He was also a prominent activist in the Leave campaign in the lead-up to the vote. Farage still has some influence over Brexit talks due to his popularity with pro-Leave voters.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Florin
Brexit's banker: Arron Banks
Businessman Arron Banks is a friend of Nigel Farage, and donated a significant sum to the former UKIP leader's Leave.EU campaign – making him the group's biggest financial backer. He had several meetings with Russian officials ahead of the referendum, but has denied allegations of collusion with Moscow in the Brexit vote, branding the claims a "political witch hunt."
Image: Getty Images/J. Taylor
Europe's honchos: Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk
EU Commission President Juncker (left) and EU Council President Tusk (right) share two of the bloc's highest posts. Juncker heads the EU's executive. Tusk represents the governments of the 27 EU countries — the "EU 27." Both help formulate the EU's position in Brexit negotiations. What Tusk says is particularly noteworthy: His EU 27 masters — not the EU commission — must agree to any Brexit deal.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Vanden
Europe's steely diplomat: Michel Barnier
The former French foreign minister and European commissioner has become a household name across the EU since his appointment as the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator in October 2016. Despite his prominence, Barnier has limited room to maneuver. He is tasked with following the EU 27's strict guidelines and must regularly report back to them during the negotiations.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
Ireland's uneasy watchman: Leo Varadkar
The Irish PM has been one of the most important EU 27 leaders in Brexit talks. Britain has said it will leave the EU's customs union and single market. That could force the Republic of Ireland, an EU member, to put up customs checks along the border with Northern Ireland, a British province. But Varadkar's government has repeatedly said the return of a "hard" border is unacceptable.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/B. Lawless/PA Wire
Europe's power-brokers: the EU 27
The leaders of the EU 27 governments have primarily set the EU's negotiating position. They have agreed to the negotiating guidelines for chief negotiator Barnier and have helped craft the common EU position for Tusk and Juncker to stick to. The individual EU 27 governments can also influence the shape of any Brexit outcome because they must unanimously agree to a final deal.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Macdougal
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'Sad' but necessary
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Brexit was not a "moment of joy or celebration."
"It's a sad moment, and it's a tragedy," he said after arriving for the summit in Brussels. He later urged the British parliament to back the deal because other options aren't available.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday's summit triggered "very ambivalent feelings" after 45 years of UK membership of the EU, but she said she respected the vote of the British people.
Michel Barnier, the EU's Brexit negotiator, warned all sides to act responsibly to ensure Britain's orderly departure from the European bloc.
"Now, it's time for everybody to take their responsibility," Barnier said, describing the deal as a "necessary step" to build trust between Britain and the EU. "We will remain allies, partners and friends."
However, even though EU leaders approved the deal on Sunday, it needs to be passed by the UK parliament, where many lawmakers, including from Prime Minister Theresa May's own Conservative Party, vehemently oppose it. The leader of the main opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said his MPs would also vote against the deal, describing it as "the worst of all worlds."
Even those in favor of Britain's divorce from the EU dislike the deal, particularly the so-called backstop aimed at preventing the re-emergence of a hard border on the island of Ireland after Northern Ireland leaves the EU along with Britain.
Euroskeptics in May's Conservative Party and their Northern Irish allies, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), argue the treaty will keep Britain too close to the EU.
After EU leaders endorsed the deal, DUP leader Arlene Foster told broadcaster BBC that she would "review" the "confidence and supply" agreement propping up the minority Conservative government if the treaty were passed by Parliament.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the same broadcaster the parliamentary "arithmetic" for approving the deal was "challenging," but that it would entail "very big risks" for the country if MPs were to reject it.
'In our national interest'
But in an open "letter to the nation" on Sunday, May claimed the deal was "in our national interest," and worked for all parts of the UK.
She said that Brexit could be "a moment of renewal and reconciliation."
"To do that we need to get on with Brexit now by getting behind this deal," she added.
