The 27 remaining leaders of the European Union on Sunday quickly approved “an orderly” withdrawal for Britain after 20 months of negotiations.
Nov. 25 (UPI) — The 27 remaining leaders of the European Union on Sunday quickly approved “an orderly” withdrawal for Britain after 20 months of negotiations.
The British Parliament, which is divided on the separation, will vote on the deal in early December, according to the BBC. Afterward, the agreement will need to be approved by a majority in the European Council and then ratified by the European Parliament before the March 29 exit deadline.
Prime Minister, speaking in Brussels, Belgium, after the decision, urged Leave and Remain backers to support the agreement because it sets Britain “on course for a prosperous future.”
In a letter to the British public on Saturday evening before the vote, May wrote “it is a deal for a brighter future.”
Once Britain leaves the European Union, she wrote that “we will then begin a new chapter in our national life. I want that to be a moment of renewal and reconciliation for our whole coutnry. It must mark the point when we put aside the labels of ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ for good and we come together again as one people. To do that we need to get on with Brexit now by getting behind this deal.”
One hour after the meeting started, European Council President Donald Tusk announced on Twitter: “EU27 has endorsed the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on the future EU-UK relations.”
The EU approved the 585-page, legally binding document by consensus with no formal vote taken.
“The European Council invites the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to take the necessary steps to ensure that the agreement can enter into force on 30 March 2019, so as to provide for an orderly withdrawal,” the European Council said in a news release .
