Brexit: 'Breakthrough' deal paves way for future trade talks PM Theresa May has struck a last-minute deal with the EU in a bid to move Brexit talks on to the next phase. There will be no "hard border" with Ireland; and EU citizens in the UK, and UK citizens in the EU, will see their rights protected. The so-called "divorce bill" will amount to between £35bn and £39bn, Downing Street says. The European Commission president said it was a "breakthrough" and he was confident EU leaders will approve it. LIVE: Latest updates from Brussels Full text of the EU-UK statement Reality Check: What key lines really mean Brexit: All you need to know They are due to meet next Thursday for a European Council summit and need to give their backing to the deal if post-Brexit trade talks are to begin. The UK will then have about a year to hammer out an agreement on future relations, which will have to be ratified by the EU nations and the UK Parliament, before the UK leaves in March 2019. Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, whose opposition on Monday led to talks breaking down, said there was still "more work to be done" on the border issue and how it votes on the final deal "will depend on its contents". Mrs May depends on the party's support to win key votes in Westminster. The pound was trading at a six-month high against the euro as news broke of the draft agreement. What has been agreed? Guarantee that there will be "no hard border" between Northern Ireland and the Republic and that the "constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom" will be maintained. The DUP says this means "no red line down the Irish Sea" - separating Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK EU citizens living in the UK and vice versa will have their rights to live, work and study protected. The agreement includes reunification rights for relatives who do not live in the UK to join them in their host country in the future Financial settlement - No specific figure is in the document but Downing Street says it will be between £35bn and £40bn, including budget contributions during a two-year "transition" period after March 2019 The Irish border How the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic will operate when Northern Ireland has left the EU remains a contentious issue. The UK government and the EU want to maintain the free flow of goods, without border checks that they fear could threaten a return to to The Troubles, but the DUP does not want Northern Ireland to be treated differently to the rest of the UK after Brexit. Friday's deal document says any future deal must protect "North-South co-operation" and hold to the UK's "guarantee of avoiding a hard border". It also says that if no UK-EU trade deal is agreed, the UK would maintain "full alignment" with elements of the EU single market and customs union which support the economy of the island of Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement, such as agriculture and energy. EU negotiator Michel Barnier told journalists that alignment would apply only to the "island of Ireland", not the rest of the UK, although some Brexiteers have read it as meaning the whole of the UK would have to abide by some EU rules. The agreement also says "no new regulatory barriers" will be allowed between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and that Northern Ireland's businesses will continue to have "unfettered access" to the UK internal market - a passage thought to have been added to meet DUP concerns. Some in the DUP would also have liked to remove the phrase "full alignment" from the report, but that would not have been acceptable to the Irish government, says the BBC's Chris Morris. 'More Brexit work to be done' warns Foster Citizens' rights Agreement has been reached on what happens to the three million EU citizens living in the UK and more than a million UK citizens in EU states after Brexit. EU citizens would be allowed to live and work in the UK in line with current freedom of movement principles and those already in the country who do not yet have permanent residency would be able to acquire it after Brexit. The plan is that UK citizens in the EU would get the same rights, or "reciprocal protection". The agreement covers rights for relatives to join citizens in host countries - including future spouses. Brexit: What now for EU citizens in the UK? The divorce bill A figure is not mentioned in the text of the agreement but Downing Street says it will be between £35bn and £39bn - higher than Theresa May indicated in September but lower than some estimates. It will be paid over several years and the precise figure is unlikely to be known for some time. The prime minister said it would be "fair to the British taxpayer" and would mean the UK in future "will be able to invest more in our priorities at home, such as housing, schools and the NHS". EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said the EU had agreed to drop the cost of relocating UK-based EU agencies from the final divorce bill. What has changed since Monday? The DUP, whose opposition on Monday led to talks breaking down, say there have been six "substantial changes" to the text. Party leader Arlene Foster said they would mean there was "no red line down the Irish Sea" - meaning no customs barrier between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. But BBC Northern Ireland economics editor John Campbell says there is a lot of hard negotiating to come and compromises to be made. Another interpretation of the deal is that that it still leaves the door open for a special status for Northern Ireland, he adds. What does Brexit deal mean for NI? BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg's analysis Theresa May has achieved what she wanted - the green light to move on. Had she not, she was in deep, deep political trouble. But the 15 pages, described as a "personal success" for Theresa May by Donald Tusk give her what she needed for now. There are additional guarantees for Northern Ireland and the border, but an undefined statement on "full alignment", if there is no big trade deal. The implications of what "full alignment" will mean will still be fought over by the two wings of the Conservative Party. Read more from Laura How has it been received? In the UK, ministers lavished praise on the prime minister with Environment Secretary Mr Gove saying it was a "significant personal political achievement" for Mrs May while Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted: "Congratulations to PM for her determination in getting today's deal." But Labour's Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer said Mrs May should "seriously reflect on her approach to the negotiations so far". He added: "Despite being two months later than originally planned, it is encouraging that the European Commission has recommended sufficient progress in the Brexit negotiations. "The priority for both sides now must be to agree transitional arrangements on the same basic terms as we have now. That means staying in the single market and a customs union for a time-limited period." European press relieved at Brexit 'white smoke' DUP Leader Arlene Foster said it meant that Northern Ireland would "not be separated constitutionally, politically, economically or regulatory from the rest of the United Kingdom" and "in all circumstances the United Kingdom will continue to ensure the same unfettered access for Northern Ireland's businesses to the whole of the UK internal market". Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "Move to phase 2 of talks is good - but the devil is in the detail and things now get really tough." Lib Dem leader Vince Cable, who backs a referendum on the final deal, said "it reduces the risk of a catastrophic no-deal Brexit" but questioned if it would last or be "torn apart by Theresa May's own MPs". Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage told the BBC the estimated bill was "way more than we need to pay" and he was unhappy that the European Court of Justice would continue to have a role for up to eight years. "The whole thing is humiliating. We have collapsed at every level." Leaked EU guidelines on future relationship The UK will remain a "member" of the EU's customs union and single market during any "transition" period after March 2019, according to a leaked copy of European Council guidelines for the forthcoming trade talks. The guidelines, which are a separate document to the draft agreement on divorce issues, also suggest the UK will remain under the full jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice during the transition. Membership of the single market means keeping all of the EU's "four freedoms" - goods, services, capital, and labour - although the UK government says that new long-term arrivals from the EU will have to register during the transition period. Membership of the customs union restricts the UK's ability to sign new trade deals - but informal negotiations with other countries could still be possible. Theresa May has asked for a transition period of "around two years" during which the UK will continue to follow the "existing structure of EU rules and regulations". But she has also told MPs the UK will leave the single market and customs union in March 2019 and freedom of movement "as we know it" will end. View comments