Czech PM Calls November 25 'Mourning Day' for EU As Brexit Deal Endorsed

PRAGUE (Sputnik) – Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis called Sunday, November 25, a mourning day for the European Union as leaders of the EU countries endorsed the agreement on Brexit.

"This is a mourning day for the Europeans. We have completed the process of withdrawing the United Kingdom from the European Union. The text of the agreement has 585 pages, while the negotiations lasted for 524 days," Babis said, as quoted by local broadcasters, adding that leaders of the EU states believed that the current Brexit deal was the best possible option for the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.

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The Czech prime minister expects an emergency session of the European Council in case of the UK refusal to approve the Brexit deal. At the same time, Babis expressed hope that the UK Parliament would support the agreement despite the existing differences.

"I think that everything will be normal. It is beneficial for the United Kingdom to ratify the agreement," the Czech prime minister added.

Earlier on Sunday, a special meeting of the leaders of 27 EU member states was held in Brussels, during which they endorsed the agreement and the political declaration regulating relations with the United Kingdom after the upcoming Brexit.

Following the EU leaders’ summit, UK Prime Minister Theresa May voiced hope that the UK Parliament would ratify the agreement although it had faced criticism both from the opposition and from the ruling party when she defended it in the House of Commons last week.

The United Kingdom voted to leave the bloc in 2016 and is set to depart from the European Union by late March 2019.