British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that the United Kingdom has secured a “great, new” Brexit deal, following negotiations with the European Union.

“We’ve got a great new deal that takes back control – now Parliament should get Brexit done on Saturday so we can move on to other priorities like the cost of living, the NHS [National Health Service], violent crime and our environment,” Johnson tweeted.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed that a deal had been reached. “Where there is a will, there is a #deal – we have one!” he tweeted. “It’s a fair and balanced agreement for the EU and the UK and it is testament to our commitment to find solutions. I recommend that #EUCO endorses this deal.”

“The negotiators reached an agreement on a revised Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and on a revised Political Declaration on 17 October 2019,” Juncker said in a statement. “The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom also signalled his approval of these documents to me today...I recommend that the European Council endorses the revised Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration at its forthcoming meeting.”

On October 7, Johnson had told the European Union that it should urgently discuss his proposal for breaking the Brexit deadlock, ahead of the United Kingdom’s scheduled departure from the union on October 31.

Johnson had presented his proposal to the European Union on October 2, adding that Britain was ready to leave the bloc “with or without a deal” on October 31. The British prime minister said in a message to the European Union that there can be no checks at or near the Northern Ireland border, a compromise both sides should make. However, the proposal added that Northern Ireland would leave the EU’s customs area along with the rest of the UK, a step that could be unacceptable to the bloc and to Ireland.

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