Britain and the EU reached a historic deal on Friday on the
terms of the Brexit divorce after Prime Minister Theresa May rushed to
Brussels for early morning talks.
The European Commission
said it "recommends sufficient progress" had been made by Britain on
separation issues including the Irish border, Britain's divorce bill,
and citizens rights.
The agreement paves the way for EU
leaders at a summit on December 14-15 to open the second phase of Brexit
negotiations, covering trade talks and a transition period.
Britain
voted in June 2016 to become the first state to leave the EU, after
more than four decades of membership, but the talks have been slow
moving and often acrimonious so far.
"The
Commission is satisfied that sufficient progress has been achieved in
each of the three priority areas," the European Commission said in a
statement.
Negotiators worked through the night to seal an agreement on the terms of Britain's departure from the bloc.
The
EU had set a deadline of Sunday after the last talks on Monday broke
down when May's Northern Irish allies objected to terms for future
arrangements for the Irish border.
Commission chief
Jean-Claude Juncker's chief of staff Martin Selmayr tweeted a picture of
white smoke — the sign used by the Vatican to signify the election of a
new pope — shortly after May's arrival.
Juncker spoke
first with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar then with May on Thursday
night in a bid to break a deadlock over the wording of a deal on future
arrangements for the Irish border.
Border quandary
Britain agreed to pay a divorce settlement amounting to
between 45 and 55 billion euros and to protect the rights of some three
million European citizens living there after Brexit as part of the deal.
But
Ireland's demands that Brexit should not lead to the return of
checkpoints on the border with Northern Ireland, which it said could
jeopardise the peace process in the north, proved the biggest stumbling
block at the end.
"In Northern Ireland we guarantee there will be no hard border," May told a press conference with Juncker.
The
pro-British DUP party which props up May's government refused Monday's
draft deal over a phrase suggesting there would be "regulatory
alignment" with the EU after Brexit — effectively putting Northern
Ireland under EU law.
DUP leader Arlene Foster told Sky News there had now been changes following talks with May.
"We're
pleased to see those changes because for me it means there's no red
line down the Irish Sea and we have the very clear confirmation that the
entirety of the United Kingdom is leaving the European union, leaving
the single market, leaving the customs union," she said.
'Totally and utterly incompetent'
On Thursday, EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas had
dismissed British newspaper reports that the Sunday deadline could be
extended into next week as "not correct".
Scotland's
nationalist leader showed little patience, accusing the British
government of being "totally and utterly incompetent" on Brexit.
First
Minister Nicola Sturgeon said "the real lesson" of the past week was
that Scotland "will always be at the mercy of reckless decisions taken
by Tory governments at Westminster" unless it becomes independent.
"The sooner we are in control over our own future here in Scotland the better, and this week has proved it," she added.
Eurogroup
chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem offered some calming words, saying Britain's
City of London financial hub "will not fall apart" after Brexit even if
it loses the right to allow banks to trade freely across the bloc.
Dijsselbloem,
the Netherlands finance minister who chairs meetings of his
counterparts in the 19-country eurozone, said that some businesses would
nevertheless have to relocate.
"I don't believe that the
City will fall apart and that everyone will flee. I don't think that's
how it's going to work," he told a European Parliament committee.
His
reassurances come at a time when Britain's finance sector is anxious
about losing the "passporting" rights which allow large international
banks to trade throughout the EU while being based in Britain.