Portugal’s PM on Brexit agreement: “I hope it will be the final one”

Portugal’s Prime Minister expects the British Parliament to approve the new settlement for the UK divorce from the European Union between London and Brussels. “I hope it will be the final one and the British Parliament will give its approval,” António Costa said this Thursday, noting that the “top priority” was “to avoid an exit without agreement.”

In a statement to journalists, Costa said he considered this new step in the negotiations between the parties to the agreement to be “excellent” and stressed that “he only hopes that this agreement will be effectively approved not only in the European Union, but also in the British Parliament”.

“We have not lacked agreements with the British governments. As I recall, in these four years alone, we reached an agreement with David Cameron – which did not result in a victory in the referendum – we reached an agreement with Theresa May – which was not approved in Parliament – and we had an addition to the agreement with Mrs May – which was not approved in Parliament either. So I hope that on Wednesday it will be for good and not just between us and the British Government, but also between us and the British Parliament”, said the Prime Minister.

António Costa also referred that the agreement announced today “meets all the requirements that had been placed, in particular to maintain the integrity of the internal market and the United Kingdom, and to respect the Good Friday agreement between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, so as not to compromise the peace process”.

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, announced this Thursday that London and Brussels have finally agreed on the political declaration and on the Irish border issue. This is still an agreement at technical level. In other words, it will still need to be approved by the other leaders of the European Union and by the British Parliament itself.