Leaders of 27 member states of the European Union on Sunday endorsed the United Kingdom’s Brexit deal, European Council President Donald Tusk said. “EU27 has endorsed the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on the future EU-UK relations,” Tusk said on Twitter.
There was no formal vote on Sunday at the summit in Brussels, and the EU proceeded by consensus, BBC reported.
The UK is due to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019. After months of negotiations, UK and EU officials had agreed on the draft text of a Brexit agreement. While the details of the agreement were not made public, some information had been leaked to the media.
The deal is yet to be approved by the UK Parliament. Although Prime Minister Theresa May has the support of her Cabinet, voices of dissent have grown over the last few days. Four British government ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, resigned after the draft agreement was signed on November 14. Raab said the UK was being bullied by the European Union.
On Sunday, European Union leaders adopted an official statement saying they were committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that the Brexit agreement can enter into force on Mach 30, 2019, to provide for an orderly withdrawal, Reuters reported. The statement also urged the UK Parliament to back the withdrawal agreement.
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