Britain and the E.U. have a deal?

Britain and the European Union announced on Thursday that an agreement on the draft text of a Brexit deal had been reached, a last-minute breakthrough for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he works to map out Britain’s departure from the bloc.

Writing on Twitter, Mr. Johnson called the agreement a “great new deal that takes back control,” and said that Parliament would vote on the deal on Saturday.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission’s president, confirmed that a deal had been reached and noted that a revised arrangement on Northern Ireland was part of the agreement.

Writing on Twitter, Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar, called the agreement a “unique solution” for Northern Ireland that respects its “unique history and geography.”

Ireland’s approval has been a key element in securing European agreement on any deal and ensuring that there will not be a hard border between the Republic of Ireland, which is a member of the European Union, and Northern Ireland which is a part of the United Kingdom.

During a joint news conference with Mr. Johnson in Brussels later in the day, Mr. Juncker said that after much hard work they had reached a “fair, balanced agreement” that “provided certainty where Brexit provide uncertainty.”

Mr. Johnson also had kind words for his European partners, saying that the agreement represented a very good deal for both Britain and the European Union. He did not address questions about how he would gather the needed support from fellow lawmakers at home to get the deal through Parliament.

Mr. Johnson said the agreement would result in “a real Brexit that achieves our objective,” and vowed that “the U.K. leaves whole and entire on Oct. 31″…..

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image….Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, left, and the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, ….Francisco Seco/Associated Press