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European Union leaders will meet on Nov. 25 to endorse the divorce deal with Britain and a political declaration on the future relationship, the chairman of EU summits Donald Tusk said on Thursday.
"If nothing extraordinary happens, we will hold a European Council meeting in order to finalise and formalise the Brexit agreement. It will take place on Sunday, November 25th at 0930 a.m.," Tusk told reporters after meeting EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.
Junior Northern Ireland minister Shailesh Vara, who backed remain in the EU referendum, has quit Prime Minister Theresa May's government, highlighting the challenge she faces in winning parliament's backing for her draft Brexit deal.He is the first member of May's government to resign since she won the backing of her senior ministers for her draft Brexit deal with the European Union on Wednesday, a deal which has so far been mauled by opponents.Vara criticised her deal in his resignation letter, saying that it left the UK "in a half-way house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation".Vara said he could not support the draft agreement."We are a proud nation and it is a sad day when we are reduced to obeying rules made by other countries who have shown they do not have our best interests at heart. We can and must do better than this," he said. British PM May bets all on Brexit deal as opponents plotDUP leader makes UK PM May aware of concerns in a 'frank' meeting
British junior minister quits May's government
British Prime Minister Theresa May will be questioned by lawmakers on Thursday after her draft Brexit deal with the European Union was mauled by opponents, allies and mutinous members of her party who warned it could sink her premiership.May won the backing of her senior ministers after a five-hour meeting on Wednesday though she now faces the much more perilous struggle of getting parliament, which has the final say, to approve the agreement. It is unclear when that vote might happen.More than two years after the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the EU, May said the deal was the best the world's fifth-largest economy could hope for and that the other options were leaving with no deal or thwarting Brexit.Nick Timothy, one of May's former chiefs of staff, said her deal was a capitulation that parliament would reject."When parliament rejects the prime minister’s proposal, as surely it will, there will still be time for ministers to negotiate something better," Timothy wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.Timothy, who resigned after May's botched gamble on a snap election that lost her party its majority in parliament, said Britain should use its security contribution as a bargaining chip to get a better deal.UK PM's Brexit deal is 'good news', says French finance ministerMay will give a statement to parliament on Thursday on the deal which she hopes will satisfy both Brexit voters and EU supporters by ensuring close ties with the bloc after Britain leaves on March 29.The ultimate outcome for the United Kingdom remains uncertain: scenarios range from a calm divorce to rejection of May's deal, potentially sinking her premiership and leaving the bloc with no agreement, or another referendum.Getting a deal through parliament will be difficult. She will need the votes of about 320 of the 650 lawmakers."The parliamentary arithmetic has looked tight for some time," Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients. "It now looks tighter, given signs of greater unity among those who object to the draft Agreement.""We're in the Brexs**t - Theresa May's soft Brexit deal blasted by ALL sides," read the headline in The Sun, Britain's best read newspaper.The Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which props up May's government, said it would not back any deal that treated the British province differently from the rest of the United Kingdom.DUP leader makes UK PM May aware of concerns in a 'frank' meeting
British PM May bets all on Brexit deal as opponents plot
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday that British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal was "good news", adding that it was in everyone's interest that the Brexit process proceeded smoothly."It is good news," Le Maire told France 2 television, adding that May's draft Brexit deal was a good development for both the French and the broader euro zone economy.Le Maire added he would nevertheless be "prudent" over the next steps in the Brexit process, so that any final deal would respect various rules on issues such as tax regulation.On Wednesday, Prime Minister May won the backing of her senior ministers for a draft European Union divorce deal, freeing her to tackle the much more perilous struggle of getting parliament to approve the agreement.British PM May bets all on Brexit deal as opponents plotItaly must behave responsibly over its budget, says French finance ministerThe Italian government must behave responsibly regarding its budget and economic situation, said French finance minister Bruno Le Maire on Thursday."I hope that the Italian government will show signs of responsibility," Le Maire told France 2 television. He reiterated the euro zone is not currently in shape to handle another major crisis.On Wednesday, Italy re-submitted its draft 2019 budget to the European Commission with the same growth and deficit assumptions as a draft rejected for breaking European Union rules, stepping up its showdown with the EU over its fiscal policy. 
UK PM's Brexit deal is 'good news', says French finance minister