Theresa May dramatically sealed her Brexit deal with Brussels today despite last-ditch wrangling over fishing and Gibraltar.
EU Council President Donald Tusk said the 'future framework' outlining terms of a trade deal had been agreed by negotiators this morning.
It has now been sent to EU capitals ahead of a showdown summit on Sunday - amid complaints from Spain over Gibraltar and France on fishing.
In possible concessions to help Mrs May get the deal through the Commons, the 26-page document leaves open the opportunity for Britain to have an 'independent trade policy'.
And it stressed both sides' 'determination to replace the backstop' for the Irish border with alternative plans in future.
Mrs May is now due to make a statement to MPs at 3pm as she launches an all-out drive to get the package through Parliament. The Pound surged on the news.
The 26-page political declaration published today outlines the terms of the UK's relationship with the EU after Brexit. But it would not come into force until the end of a transition period - mooted to end in December 2020.
But the exact details - which will be crucial - will not be hammered out until after Britain formally leaves the bloc in March next year.
EU Council President Donald Tusk said the 'future framework' outlining the plans for the final UK-EU trade deal had been agreed by negotiators this morning and sent to EU capitals
Mrs May met EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured together) for two hours in Brussels last night, but emerged with no apparent breakthrough
There is speculation Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez is taking a hard line on Gibraltar at the last moment for domestic reasons, as key regional elections are looming
The draft of the declaration was published today after intense horse-trading between the UK and EU nations
The PM made a dash to Brussels last night for talks with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, but left without a breakthrough.
She is planning to return to the EU capital on Saturday to set the stage for a frantic 48 hour race to finalise aBrexit deal amid raging rows over fishing, trade terms and Gibraltar.
EU diplomats said today Madrid was 'all alone' in its bid to reopen the text of the Withdrawal Agreement - while Irish deputy PM Simon Coveney warned that that part of the deal was 'closed'.
There is speculation Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez is taking a hard line for domestic reasons, as key regional elections are looming.
But Mrs May is being buffeted by her own pressures at home - which intensified today after it emerged Jeremy Hunt warned at Cabinet last week that the Irish border backstop had become a 'Turkey trap' that could tie the UK down for decades.
Mrs May met EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker for two hours in Brussels last night, but emerged with no apparent breakthrough. She will hold talks with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz - who holds the rotating presidency of the European Council - in Downing Street later.
But the delay threatens to derail the entire process, with Berlin warning yesterday that Chancellor Angela Merkel will pull the plug unless Britain, France, Spain and other countries end the last-minute horse-trading over the details.
German sources said Mrs Merkel would not attend Sunday's summit unless the deal is finalised by Friday.
It will fuel fears that Mrs May could face a repeat of the disastrous Salzburg summit in September when EU leaders threw out her Chequers proposals after initially indicating they would consider them.
Speaking after a two-hour meeting with Mr Juncker in Brussels last night, Mrs May admitted there were 'further issues that need resolution'. She is seeking a number of changes designed to make the deal more palatable to her own MPs.
Whitehall sources confirmed that Mrs May is seeking 'new language' to make it clear the UK cannot be trapped forever in the Irish 'backstop'.
It has emerged that Mr Hunt told last week's crucial Cabinet meeting that Turkey had been negotiating with the EU for 31 years – and Britain risked the same.
He said the 'backstop' that will keep Britain in a customs union with the EU could become a 'front stop'.
He also called for 'incentives' to avoid the status of a satellite of the EU.
As the Brexit talks enter their final days, EU officials have been struggling to balance a string of conflicting demands.
EU Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis has said a final text must be agreed before a meeting tomorrow of EU diplomats who are due to brief their national governments before Sunday's summit.
But Spain yesterday stepped up threats to vote down the deal unless it is altered to give Madrid a veto over Gibraltar's future.
Responding to the brinkmanship, Mr Coveney told Euronews: 'The withdrawal treaty text is agreed, it's closed
'If you reopen for one issue, well then there is an avalanche of other asks, I am sure, that different countries will have.'
An EU diplomat told Politico: 'We are following the latest developments with growing concern and incomprehension.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, pictured in Westminster yesterday, is said to have warned privately that Mrs May's deal could be a 'Turkey trap'
'Among the EU27 our Spanish friends are all alone on this.'
France, meanwhile, is demanding guaranteed access to British fishing grounds.
At the same time, Mrs May is trying to secure fresh concessions to assuage concern from Brexiteers and get the deal through Parliament.
Three Tory MPs challenged the Prime Minister over the issue in the Commons yesterday, with environment committee chairman Neil Parish telling her the draft deal was 'not good enough as it stands'. Mrs May insisted the Irish backstop was designed to be 'temporary' – if it was used at all – but sources confirmed she recognises the need to secure a clearer exit route out of it. One Cabinet minister said: 'It is about giving MPs enough comfort so that they can say 'the deal is not what I first thought it was'.'
The minister suggested that rather than redrafting the deal, appendices or explanatory notes could be added to make it more palatable. 'There are lots of ways of changing something without changing something,' the source said.
After last night's talks in Brussels, Mrs May said: 'We have made further progress. I now plan to return for further meetings, including with President Juncker, on Saturday to discuss how we can bring to a conclusion this process.'
An EU Commission spokesman said: 'Good progress was made. Work is continuing.'
Germany's ambassador Michael Clauss is said to have given EU member states 24 hours to reach a consensus.
He issued the warning at a meeting of member state ambassadors on Tuesday night where passions ran high over extra demands involving Gibraltar, fishing rights and trade in goods.
Insiders said he told them that Mrs Merkel will not travel to Brussels for Sunday's summit unless an agreement is ready to sign.
Linkhienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/11/22/brexit-deal-may-and-eu-agree-last-part-of-of-trade-deal/
Main photo article Theresa May dramatically sealed her Brexit deal with Brussels today despite last-ditch wrangling over fishing and Gibraltar.
EU Council President Donald Tusk said the ‘future framework’ outlining terms of a trade deal had been agreed by negotiators this morning.
It has now been sent ...
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Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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