- Title: There must be no prolongation, it has to be now - Juncker
- Date: 17th October 2019
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (OCTOBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF EUROPEAN COUNCIL BUILDING
- Embargoed: 31st October 2019 13:57
- Keywords: Eu Summit Brexit deal agreement Jean Claude Juncker Ursula Von der Leyen Stefan Loefven Xavier Bettel
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002B1HKW1Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Britain clinched an eleventh-hour Brexit deal with the EU on Thursday (October 17), more than three years after Britons voted in a referendum to leave the bloc, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson still faces a knife-edge vote in parliament to get it approved.
The member states' leaders were largely cautious, expressing scepticism as to whether the new divorce bill will be ratified by the British Parliament in time for an orderly exit on Oct. 31.
Swedish President, Stefan Loefven, said that news of a Brexit deal being finalised was "positive" but stressed that "nothing is clear yet". The Luxembourg Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, said that despite a no-deal exit constituting a "lose-lose" situation, a deal was not necessarily a "win-win" outcome.
Incoming EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said that she was "relieved" but also "sad that our British friends will leave the European Union". She added that an orderly Brexit was essential for Europe's economy and its people.
It remains to be seen whether the Brexit deal will be passed by the British Parliament in its extraordinary session on Saturday, with the Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) already making clear its opposition to the agreement. The British parliament defeated similar deals struck by Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, three times.
But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker insisted it had to be this deal and that there would be no further extension.
(Production: Elena Gyldenkerne, Jorrit Donner-Wittkopf) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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