European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called the Brexit withdrawal agreement EU leaders approved Sunday the "best and only deal possible," reports the BBC.
The big picture: It took 20 months for the EU and the U.K. to finalize a Brexit deal, and while Juncker and Prime Minister Theresa May agree that it's the best possible outcome for the British people, others beg to differ — including hardline members of May's own Conservative party. Parliament is expected to vote on the agreement Dec. 12, but approval is far from guaranteed. Juncker told the BBC that if the House of Commons votes no, "we would have no deal."
Ukraine claimed that Russia opened fire on its navy ships in the Kirch Strait, a sea passage between Crimea and Russia's mainland, on Sunday, damaging one and escalating the ongoing Crimean crisis, per the AP.
The big picture: The standoff led Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to convene his military cabinet.Russia earlier blocked access to the strait after it claimed Ukrainian naval vessels ventured into Russian waters. Ukraine claims it gave Russia advance warning about the movement of its navy ships. Russia's blockade of the strait with a tanker effectively cuts off sea access for Ukrainian cities that lie on the Sea of Azov, reheating the geopolitical crisis that kicked off with Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The Brexit deal is back on track after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May made a last minute effort to meet the demands of Spain over the future of the disputed British territory of Gibraltar, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to boycott the Brexit summit of EU leaders on Sunday if there were no guarantees that Gibraltar would be excluded from any trade negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union. May's concession could further endanger her upcoming battle to get the deal passed through Parliament, per Bloomberg.
