British prime minister Boris Johnson as seen during his September 2019 visit to Luxembourg Jan Hanrion/archives

British prime minister Boris Johnson as seen during his September 2019 visit to Luxembourg Jan Hanrion/archives

As The Guardian reports, the British prime minister is convinced the “fair and reasonable” agreement will be passed through the House of Commons, although CNN reports that with two opposition parties rejecting the deal, he’ll “face an extremely tough job” in getting the deal approved at home. 

The BBC added that “Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the deal sounded ‘even worse’ than what was negotiated by the PM's predecessor, Theresa May, and ‘should be rejected’ by MPs.”

EU Commission president Juncker called the deal “balanced” and further recommended the European Council endorse the agreement as well. In a letter written to the EU Council president Donald Tusk, Juncker wrote that, while he “deeply regret[s]” the 23 June 2016 referendum outcome, he “continue[s] to believe that the European Union is best served by an orderly and amicable withdrawal of the United Kingdom from our Union. Our hand should always remain outstretched as the United Kingdom will remain a key partner of the European Union in the future.”

With regards to the contentious Ireland/Northern Ireland issues, Juncker said negotiations focused on finding a “mutually satisfactory solution to address the specific cricumstances on the island of Ireland”, a sentiment echoed by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier during a Thursday press conference. As The Guardian reports, “He says this new approach has nothing to do with the old backstop. It sets up a system in Northern Ireland that is sustainable.”

The revised withdrawal agreement can be read in its entirety here.