EU announces new Brexit deal with UK

Britain and the European Union have finally struck a new Brexit deal after days of intense back-and-forth negotiations, setting the stage for another major parliamentary showdown over the United Kingdom’s bid to leave the bloc after months of political chaos.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, announced the agreement on Thursday just hours before EU leaders were due to meet in Brussels, whom he called on to back the deal.

“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,” Juncker said in a post on Twitter.

The new agreement – which sets out a revised plan for Northern Ireland, a major stumbling block in the previous deal – must still be formally approved by all of the EU’s member states and ratified by the European and UK Parliaments.

It comes just two weeks before the United Kingdom is scheduled to depart the 28-member bloc on October 31.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the last-minute breakthrough.

“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,” Johnson said in a post on Twitter.

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