UK announces draft agreement with EU on Brexit

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IANS | 14 Nov, 2018
Negotiatiors from the United Kingdom and the European Union have formulated a draft Brexit agreement, the office of Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday.

A special Cabinet meeting has been set for Wednesday to "consider the draft agreement the negotiating teams have reached in Brussels, and to decide on next steps," 10 Downing Street said, Efe reported.

Ministers will be able to read the text of the agreement before the meeting, May's office said.

British media outlets reported that May will meet individually Tuesday evening with each of her ministers to prepare for the meeting.

The Prime Minister will seek the approval of her Cabinet before finalizing the pact with London's 27 EU partners.

The most Euroskeptical faction of the Conservative government up to now has been critical of the progress of the negotiations.

During the weekly Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, May told her team that only a small number of matters remained to be negotiated in the talks with Brussels.

The thorniest problem in the dialogue, avoiding the need for customs checks and an accompanying "hard border" between the UK province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has now been resolved, Irish public broadcaster RTE reported Tuesday, though noting that the text remained subject to modification.

But the Irish government said Tuesday that there are still "matters outstanding" in the EU-UK talks.

"At the moment there is nothing confirmed," a spokesperson for Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar said.

Ireland's foreign minister, Simon Coveney, amplified those comments.

"Negotiations between the EU and UK on a Withdrawal Agreement are ongoing and have not concluded. Negotiators are still engaged and a number of issues are outstanding. We are not commenting further on leaks in the media," he said through a spokesman.