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As it happenedended1512755053

Brexit deal - as it happened: Theresa May's late-night scramble to seal a deal as EU finally gives green light for future trade talks

Tom Embury-Dennis,Lizzy Buchan
Friday 08 December 2017 08:51 GMT
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Brexit: Theresa May agrees breakthrough Irish border deal with EU leaders

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After late night phone-calls and a very early morning flight to Brussels, Theresa May and the EU announced a breakthrough deal which will allow Brexit negotiations to progress to the next stage.

Here is how the day unfolded.

In dramatic early-morning scenes, the Prime Minister flew to Brussels to stage a joint press conference with Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commission president, following lengthy negotiations with her allies in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The leaders declared that "sufficient progress" had been made on the "divorce issues" to begin the negotiations on their future trading relationship. The decision must be approved by the other 27 EU leaders at a summit on Thursday.

Key details emerged throughout the day including the detail on Britain's divorce bill - which will be between £35bn and 39bn rather than the anticipated £50bn - and the fact that people living in Northern Ireland will be able to retain their EU citizenship.

Leading Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson and David Davis gave their backing to the Prime Minister but she still faces significant a challenge to convince members of her own party over the deal, as she had to make concessions on controversial issues such as the European Court of Justice.

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Mr Varadkar praised the UK's commitment to avoiding a hard border, and reassured unionists "there is no question of us trying to exploit Brexit as a means of moving to a united Ireland without consent".

Adam Withnall8 December 2017 08:31
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Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer has issued a statement on the talks.

"Despite being two months later than originally planned, it is encouraging that the European Commission has recommended sufficient progress in the Brexit negotiations.

“The priority for both sides now must be to agree transitional arrangements on the same basic terms as we have now. That means staying in the single market and a customs union for a time-limited period. We will also need to know the political price of the deal struck and the impact any compromise that has been agreed will have on our future relationship with the EU.

“As the talks now move on to a discussion about Britain’s future relationship with the European Union, Theresa May must seriously reflect on her approach to the negotiations so far. We cannot have another year of chaos and confusion or the farcical scenes we saw earlier on in the week that put jobs and the economy at risk.”

Sir Keir is more positive than his Labour colleague, Matthew Pennycook, who describes it as "a political fudge"

Lizzy Buchan8 December 2017 08:44
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Prominent Brexiteer Michael Gove made a symbolic appearance on the Today programme to praise the Prime Minister for proving the “snakes and doomsayers” wrong.

The Environment Secretary said: “The Prime Minister has managed to not only negotiate toughly with the European Union, and that’s been acknowledged by Donald Tusk and Michel Barnier that she’s done a great job standing up for Britain.”

Other Tory Eurosceptics have piled in, including Suella Fernandes, who leads an influential group of pro-Brexit backbenchers called the European Research Group.

Lizzy Buchan8 December 2017 08:56
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The pound rose against a host of currencies on Friday morning after the European Commission declared that enough progress had been made in Brexit talks to move on to a second phase of negotiations, The Independent's Business Editor Josie Cox writes.

This is what just happened to the poundThe pound rose against a host of currencies on Friday morning, after the European Commission declared that enough progress had been made in Brexit talks to move on to a second phase of negotiations. In early trading, sterling was up around 0.3 per cent against the dollar and 0.4 per cent against the euro. It also rose against Japan’s yen, the Swiss franc, the Australian and Canadian dollars and a selection of other world currencies. 

Lizzy Buchan8 December 2017 08:58
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 Business leaders are breathing a sigh of relief over the news that Britain can move onto the next phase of talks, which focus on the future trade relationship with the EU.Here's our helpful roundup of reaction to the announcement:How the City is reacting to the breakthrough in Brexit talksBusiness leaders across the UK appeared to breathe a sigh of relief on Friday morning as news emerged that British and European negotiators had  achieved enough progress in Brexit talks to move on to the next phase of negotiations. Here’s a quick look at how some lobby groups and economists have reacted.

Lizzy Buchan8 December 2017 09:09
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Tory MPs are piling in to congratulate their beleaguered leader but she still faces trouble ahead.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable zeroes in on the challenges ahead, asking how long before the deal is "torn apart by Theresa May's own MPs?"

He says: "There are still two opposing views in government, those who want a close arrangement with the EU and those who want to tear apart decades of work building ties with our closest trading partner.

"And there is still no solution over how to prevent a border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The biggest obstacle to the government's Brexit plans is being kicked into the long grass.

"The government is still a long way from a final deal, and even further from delivering on what the Brexiters promised. 

"At the end of this process it is the British people, not Tory MPs and the DUP, who should get to decide whether the deal is good enough."

Lizzy Buchan8 December 2017 09:14
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The Independent's chief political commentator John Rentoul has fired off an analysis piece on what this morning's events really mean.

He puts his money on the PM staying in Downing Street "up to and beyond March 2019" - the official exit day. There has been ongoing speculation over whether she would be forced to step aside, with reports of a Tory plot to oust her in recent days.

Read the full piece here:

Today the EU gave way to Theresa May at the negotiating table – turns out we do have bargaining powerTheresa May will still be assailed from both sides. She should never have allowed the DUP to hold the talks to ransom, say the Remainers. She has conceded too much, say the hard Brexiters. But she has done the deal.  Four days ago serious people in her own party thought she faced the end of her time as Prime Minister and there was overheated talk about a possible general election. Now she has achieved the breakthrough to the next stage of the Brexit talks, and she seems likely to preside over the whole show, up to and beyond March 2019.

Lizzy Buchan8 December 2017 09:19
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Lizzy Buchan8 December 2017 09:32
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The Independent's Europe correspondent Jon Stone has filed this explainer on Theresa May's Brexit breakthrough - and what is actually means. Theresa May just made a Brexit breakthrough. This is what it meansWhat just happened? The British government and the European Union – backed by Ireland – have agreed a deal on the Northern Ireland border, which is the last piece of the puzzle to complete phase one of the Brexit negotiations. The European Commission, the part of the EU which is doing day-to-day negotiations, is happy to move to the next phase of discussions: talks about the transition period and Britain’s future relationship with the EU.

Lizzy Buchan8 December 2017 09:35
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In other Brexit news, an influential Commons committee has accuses the Government of an 'over-reliance on wishful thinking' in planning for the UK border after March 2019.

Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said the current approach for Brexit was 'not fit for purpose'.

Government accused of 'wishful thinking' about UK border planning after BrexitThe UK border could be left vulnerable from the first day of Brexit due to the Government’s “reckless” approach to planning the withdrawal from the EU, an influential Commons committee has said. Cross-party MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) warned the current approach to preparing for Brexit’s immediate impact was “not fit for purpose” as officials were too reliant on the possibility of a transition period to iron out problems with customs and immigration.

Lizzy Buchan8 December 2017 09:51

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