Berlin, Dec 25 German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the agreement reached between the European Union (EU) and Britain is "of historical importance," adding that Germany will examine it to decide whether Berlin supports the result.
"I am pleased that the negotiators of the European Union and Britain have reached an agreement and that the future relations between the European Union and Britain are clearly regulated," said Merkel in a statement on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.
"With the agreement, we are creating the basis for a new chapter in our relationship. For Germany and the European Union, Britain will continue to be an important partner outside the EU," according to the statement.
Merkel added that the German federal government will now intensively examine the text of the agreement, therefore it will be able to judge quickly whether Germany can support the negotiation result. The agreement cannot finally enter into force until the European Parliament approves it.
"I am very confident that we have a good result here," said Merkel.
"We have finally seen white smoke rise from the negotiations, but the agreement is not yet finalized," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in another statement.
Maas added that the deal should be approved by all 27 EU member states and later the European Parliament before it comes into force.
"As the Council Presidency, we want to do everything we can to ensure that the agreement can come into force provisionally on January 1, 2021," said Maas.
"I am confident that it will succeed," he added.
( With inputs from IANS )
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