UK and EU negotiators announced earlier in the day that they had agreed on a new draft Brexit agreement that dropped the controversial backstop to avoid a hard border in favour of giving the Northern Irish legislature a say on any future arrangement concerning the territory. The deal also needs the approval of the EU and UK parliaments. The House of Commons will vote on it at a rare session on Saturday.
"We have worked out the agreement so that it would not be rejected. However, Boris Johnson told us that he would do everything to find the majority for this," Merkel said at a press conference after the European Council meeting.
According to Merkel, the new deal was reached as a result of compromise shown by all sides. It keeps the integrity of the EU internal market and guarantees the absence of control on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Merkel also noted that the council had unanimously supported the agreement.
The breakthrough deal was clinched two weeks before the UK is due to leave the bloc on October 31.
