European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker described the deal as a "fair and balanced agreement for the EU and UK" while British prime minister Boris Johnson described it as a "great new deal". The British parliament is expected to sit on Saturday when MPs will debate the bill. He has apparently told European leaders that he is "optimistic" that he will be able to get the deal passed by parliament. The transition period was originally intended as a two-year period during which the UK could begin negotiations on future deals, however repeated Brexit delays means that the current transition period is 14 months. He refused to be drawn on the likelihood of the deal passing through the British parliament.

Source: The Local October 17, 2019 10:06 UTC