UK to Vote on Brexit Deal Before Christmas

Brussels [Belgium], Nov 25 (ANI): Hours after the draft Brexit deal was approved by the European Union (EU) leaders, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday that the United Kingdom Parliament will vote on the withdrawal agreement before December 25.

Addressing a presser here, May, while defending the pact, reiterated that "it was the only deal available." She further underlined that after a long and difficult process, it was the beginning of a "crucial national debate" and was "confident of achieving the best deal," Anadolu News Agency reported.

"The public would expect parliament to vote on the deal. For most people in the UK, they want a deal done and want us to get on with focusing more clearly on the issues that matter to them day to day," May said.

Leaders of the 27 countries of the EU endorsed the UK's withdrawal agreement from the bloc, European Council president Donald Tusk announced.

Ruling out the possibility of a second Brexit referendum, the British Prime Minister underscored that the draft deal would give the UK "an immigration system based not on where people come from, but on skills and talents," according to the report.

May further said that the UK would assume full sovereign control and would be independent, once the process of leaving the EU is fully complete. She added that the divorce agreement would bring "an end to vast annual payments being sent to the EU," and "to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK.".

Meanwhile, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, backed May's Brexit deal, saying, "I am totally convinced that this is the only deal possible."

Warning the opposition MPs who are expected to vote against the Brexit deal in the UK Parliament, he added, "Those who think by rejecting the deal that they would have a better deal will be disappointed in the first seconds after the rejection of this deal."

With the EU leaders' endorsement of the deal, the Brexit agreement is now slated to go to the UK Parliament for a vote next month, where many opposition MPs, including those from May's Conservative Party, are expected to vote against the deal, owing to various disagreements.

In 2016, over 50 per cent of the UK electorate voted to leave the EU, following which the British government had triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, beginning the country's process of its exit from the European bloc.

According to the draft deal, the UK is scheduled to leave the bloc on March 29, 2019, after which it will move into a 21-month long transitionary period (post-Brexit transition). (ANI)

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