国际英语资讯:Spotlight: EU, Britain reach new Brexit deal but uncertainties still remain_时事

国际英语资讯:Spotlight: EU, Britain reach new Brexit deal but uncertainties still remain

"We were working on the issue of VAT. We managed to achieve two objectives: Maintain the integrity of the Single Market but also satisfy the UK's legitimate wishes," said Barnier.

"Four years after the entry into force of the Protocol, the elected representatives of Northern Ireland will be able to decide, by simple majority, whether to continue," he added.

WELCOMED BY IRISH SIDE

On the Irish side, the new Brexit deal is widely welcomed.

The deal protects the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland and also avoids a hard border between Ireland and Britain's Northern Ireland, said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

"It is a good agreement allowing the UK to leave the EU in an orderly fashion with a transition period which is very important for businesses and citizens across the EU and UK," he told Irish media RTE Thursday.

Compromises had to be made to protect Ireland and the EU for securing the new deal and he was comfortable with the concessions which include compromises on a timescale and the consent issue as the deal fulfilled Ireland's objectives, he added.

Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the largest opposition party in Ireland, said that he welcomed the new Brexit deal although he believed that it was "not ideal".

He told RTE that the new deal has offered economic reassurance and would avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Michelle O'Neill, deputy leader of Sinn Fein, another major political party in Ireland, which also has political presence in Northern Ireland, told local media in Belfast that she welcomed the fact that a deal had been reached but her party needed time to digest the details of the new agreement.