Belgium: Merkel endorses new Brexit 'compromise' deal

*NO CUTAWAYS AT SOURCE*
M/S German Chancellor Angela Merkel sitting to speak, Brussels
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): "We first met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and then met as the 27 in the format of article 50. The European Council unanimously welcomed the deal agreed by Michel Barnier and Jean-Claude Junker with Boris Johnson and the British Government, which is to say the agreement that has been presented to us today as the withdrawal agreement and the amendments regarding future relations with the European Union." *NO CUTAWAYS AT SOURCE*
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): "Of course the text we have before us constitutes a compromise, everyone had to agree to a compromise but we can support this document because it implements important conditions that we had repeatedly called for, first and for most the integrity of the single market is to be safeguarded. Secondly the fact that the Irish Prime Minister on his part has been willing to enter certain compromises which prepare the ground for Ireland, the Republic of Ireland being able to safeguard its interests, and safeguard and implement the Good Friday Agreement." *NO CUTAWAYS AT SOURCE*
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): "Once the agreement has been approved by the European Parliament and the British Parliament, the House of Commons that is, we will have an orderly Brexit and by the end of 2020 and interim phase that is, where we will know how things are going to evolve. It will be the period when we can negotiate a free trade agreement with Great Britain. This distinguishes the present situation with the previous situation we found ourselves when Theresa May was Prime Minister of the UK, at the time it wasn't clear what the future relationship would look like, whether there would be a membership in the single market or not. Now it's very clear that Great Britain will be a third country and we'll speedily negotiate a free trade agreement with such a third country." *NO CUTAWAYS AT SOURCE*
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): "We know that this is not a happy day for us, one of our members states is leaving us, is exiting from the European Union, and it has always been our objective to work for an orderly Brexit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and I think today has brought us an important step closer towards reaching that objective. So all in all I think we've had good negotiations on the event that I would not claim is a positive one, but we hope we would be able to maintain a very close relationship with Great Britain in the economic field as well as foreign policy."
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): "We think it is a good deal, we think it is an agreement that bares in mind many of the conditions we wanted to see comply with, I called it squaring the circle, I think we've been quiet successful in doing so, the single market, the integrity of the single market is safeguarded, we avoid a border between Ireland and Northern Ireland."
M/S Merkel leaving
SCRIPT
German Chancellor Angela Merkel endorsed the newly renegotiated Brexit deal, which she referred to as 'compromise', during a briefing at the European Council in Brussels on Thursday.
Merkel highlighted that all EU members states welcomed the deal achieved between Michael Barnier and the British government, that would bring them closer to achieving the objective of delivering an orderly Brexit, but said it still wasn't a "happy day" to be having one of the members states leaving.
"I think we've had good negotiations on the event that I would not claim is a positive one, but we hope we would be able to maintain a very close relationship with Great Britain" said Merkel.
"We think it is a good deal, we think it is an agreement that bares in mind many of the conditions we wanted to see comply with, I called it squaring the circle, I think we've been quiet successful in doing so", she added.