EU27 leaders swiftly approve the Brexit deal after just taking less than an hour in the special EU summit in Brussels today. They endorsed both the Brexit withdrawal agreement, and the political declaration on future EU-UK relations. The European Council’s full statement here.
European Council President Donald Tusk said in the press conference that “Ahead of us is the difficult process of ratification as well as further negotiations. But regardless of how it will all end, one thing is certain: we will remain friends until the end of days, and one day longer.”
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said, “Sad day, no cause for celebrations. I salute unity of EU27 during the negotiations. We stood by Spain on Gibraltar, they have our solidarity. I’m proud of the work of our negotiating team. This is the only deal possible.”
And, “This is the best deal possible. I invite those who have to ratify it in the U.K. House of Commons, to do so. This is the best deal for Britain. This is the best deal for Europe. It is the only deal possible.”
Post meeting press conference.