With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to update the House on our negotiations to leave the European Union. First, I want to pay tribute to my Rt Hon Friends the Members for Esher and Walton and Tatton. Delivering Brexit involves difficult choices for all of us. We do not agree on all of those choices but I respect their views and thank them sincerely for all that they have done.
Mr Speaker, yesterday we agreed the provisional terms of our exit from the European Union, set out in the Draft Withdrawal Agreement. We also agreed the broad terms of our future relationship, in an Outline Political Declaration.
President Juncker has now written to the President of the European Council to recommend that “decisive progress has been made in the negotiations.”
And a special European Council will be called for Sunday 25th November. This puts us close to a Brexit deal.
Mr Speaker, what we agreed yesterday was not the final deal.
It is a draft treaty that means we will leave the EU in a smooth and orderly way on 29 March 2019 and which sets the framework for a future relationship that delivers in our national interest. It takes back control of our borders, laws and money. It protects jobs, security and the integrity of the United Kingdom. And it delivers in ways that many said could simply not be done.
We were told that we had a binary choice between the model of Norway or the model of Canada.
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