[ti:Britain, European Union Reach Deal on Brexit]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]British and European Union officials say they have reached a deal
[00:06.16]on amended terms for Britain's withdrawal from the EU.
[00:11.76]The deal was announced Thursday, more than three years after Britons voted to leave the 28-member union.
[00:23.84]British Prime Minister Boris Johnson must win a vote in parliament to get the agreement approved.
[00:33.60]"We have a great new Brexit deal," Johnson said.
[00:38.88]Politicians and the media have been using the term Brexit for the proposed withdrawal.
[00:48.68]European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also expressed satisfaction with the agreement.
[00:57.61]"It is high time to complete the divorce process and move on, as swiftly as possible,
[01:05.11]to the negotiation on the European Union's future partnership with the United Kingdom (UK)," Juncker said in a letter.
[01:16.92]"Where there is a will there is a deal - we have one!" he wrote on the social networking service Twitter.
[01:25.82]"It's a fair and balanced agreement for the EU and the UK and it is a testament to our commitment to find solutions."
[01:38.04]His tweet appeared before the start of an EU meeting in Brussels.
[01:45.08]Johnson must now secure approval for the amended deal in a special session of parliament on Saturday.
[01:54.32]If approved, the agreement would lead to an orderly withdrawal from the EU on October 31.
[02:03.96]Johnson had threatened to take Britain out of the EU at the end of the month with or without a deal.
[02:13.32]Many people worried a no-deal Brexit would cause serious damage to the British economy.
[02:21.76]The head of Britain's main opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn,
[02:26.72]said he was "unhappy" with the deal and would vote against it.
[02:32.28]Lawmakers in his party said they had been told to support calls for a special referendum when they meet on Saturday.
[02:43.08]A new nationwide vote would reopen the decision to leave the EU.
[02:51.16]For the agreement to be approved, Johnson needs the backing of the Northern Irish Democratic Union Party, or DUP.
[03:01.47]The party has said it will not support the deal.
[03:06.80]The most difficult part of any Brexit agreement has been the question of the border
[03:12.63]between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.
[03:18.00]The border is now completely open.
[03:20.92]The problem was how to keep it open once Britain leaves the EU.
[03:27.84]Setting up border checkpoints, many feared, would endanger the 1998 Good Friday Agreement,
[03:35.34]which ended years of conflict in Northern Ireland.
[03:40.60]Leaving the border open would undermine Britain's desire to control trade agreements.
[03:49.12]Negotiators worked this week to find a compromise on the question of the Irish border.
[03:57.88]The amended agreement reached would keep Northern Ireland in the UK trade area.
[04:04.52]Tariffs will be placed on goods crossing from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland
[04:10.90]if they are going to Ireland or other EU member states.
[04:17.92]However, the Democratic Unionist Party said the new wording was not acceptable.
[04:24.00]The party supports Johnson's government.
[04:28.64]The prime minister has no majority in the 650-seat parliament.
[04:34.60]The Reuters news agency notes that he needs at least 318 votes to get a deal approved.
[04:44.04]I'm Susan Shand.
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