UK Cabinet backs draft Brexit deal

by Emily Birnbaum - 11/14/18 2:42 PM ET

The British Cabinet on Wednesday approved the draft Brexit deal reached by European Union and British negotiators after months of high-stakes discussions.

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Cabinet endorsed the Brexit deal after a five-hour meeting on Monday. Their endorsement means the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU will move forward, British outlet The Evening Standard reported.

{mosads}The draft deal now requires approval from all 28 EU nations and the British and European parliaments.

The EU will publish the full text of the agreement soon, the Standard noted.

“This is a decisive step which enables us to move on and finalize the deal in the days ahead,” May said during public remarks following the Cabinet’s endorsement.

BREAKING: “This is a decisive step that enables us to move on,” Theresa May says after Cabinet backs her draft Brexit deal https://t.co/1qjoNY21x0 pic.twitter.com/ElLGsqOek5

— Bloomberg (@business) November 14, 2018

She admitted there will be “difficult days” ahead but affirmed she believes the deal is in the country’s “national interest.”

“The choice was this deal, which enables us to take back control and to build a brighter future for our country, or going back to square one, with more division, more uncertainty and a failure to deliver on the referendum,” May said, addressing potential criticisms of the deal.

The draft Brexit deal is considered a breakthrough after the British and EU negotiating teams seemed locked at an impasse regarding the Irish border, according to Business Insider. Negotiators came to the agreement on Tuesday.

The new agreement would create a “backstop” if Britain fails to agree on a comprehensive trading deal before December 2020. The “backstop” would create a customs union between the U.K. and the EU that would come with a “review clause” to determine its end date, according to multiple reports.

Britain is set to leave the EU on March 29.

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