After all-night talks, Brexit divorce deal appears settled

Britain and the European Union hammered out a deal early Friday that allows Brexit talks to move on to the all-important issues of trade and the future relationship between the two.

After talking through the night, negotiators reached broad agreement on the rights of British citizens in EU countries and EU nationals in the U.K., on the Irish border andon Britain's future financial obligations to the European Union.

But some of the details appeared contradictory.

We all know that breaking up is hard, but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder- Donald Tusk, European Council president

The last stumbling block had involved the border between Ireland which will remain an EU member and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. The deal commits to avoid a hard border with customs posts and willensure "full alignment" between Northern Ireland and the rules of the EU single market and customs union.

In language that helped secure the support of the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, it also affirms that "no new regulatory barriers" will be allowed between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. How this is to be achieved is unknown.

EU citizens can stay in U.K.

On citizenship, EU citizens in the U.K. get the right to stay, as do U.K. citizens living in the EU.

The European Court of Justice will have a role in overseeing the rights of EU citizens in the U.K. for eight years after Brexit.

11th hour Brexit deal

7 years ago

Duration 2:34

After struggling over how to handle the Irish border issue, Britain and the EU agreed to terms on their divorce Friday. Nahlah Ayed reports

Britain will not pay a lump sum to the EU to meet its financial obligations, but will pay over time.

The agreement doesn't offer a specific figure for how much Britain will end up paying, butBritain's Press Association, quoting senior sources, put the financial settlement at between 35 billion and39 billion ($60 billion to $67 billion Cdn).

As a result of this agreement, the European Commission recommended that the talks move onto the next phase. Leaders of the 27 remaining EU member states are expected to ratify that decision at a meeting on Thursday in Brussels.

"I believe that we have now made the breakthrough that we needed," EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters during a news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

The pound rose initially on the news of a breakthrough but later fell back as investors digested the details of the deal. It was trading at $1.3465 US, unchanged on the previous day.

The wording of the agreement left people close to the negotiations on both sides of the argument happy, and people further from the negotiations on both sides angry.

Farage says May caved

"I very much welcome the prospect of moving ahead to the next phase, to talk about trade and security and to discuss the positive and ambitious future relationship that is in all of our interests," May said.

Nigel Farage, who led the drive to leave the EU as chairman of the U.K. Independence Party, said May had caved on critical points. Farage tweeted that the deal was "good news for Mrs. May as we can now move on to the next stage of humiliation."

On the other side, anti-Brexit London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it is "extremely disappointing" that Britain is pledging to leave the single market and customs union.

"Despite the progress today, it looks increasingly unlikely that we will get a deal that works in London's best interests and protects jobs and growth across Britain," he said.

Britain committed once again in the agreement to leave the EU on March 29, 2019. Negotiations must be wrapped up within a year to leave time for parliaments to endorse any deal.

Time lost

Already, precious time has been lost in matters many thought would be dealt with expeditiously. The real drama lies ahead, with trade talks that normally can take a decade or more compressed into a matter of months.

European Council President Donald Tusk grimly pointed out that 18 months had already passed since Britain's vote to leave the EU and that now the parties must negotiate a transition arrangement in less than a year.

• Brexit's economic impact? U.K. has never assessed it
• Brexit talks stall over how to handle Irish border

"The most difficult challenge is still ahead," Tusk said. "We all know that breaking up is hard, but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder."