"I am very happy that the participants of the EU-UK talks have reached preliminary agreements in their Brexit talks … After months of uncertainty, we have finally received a clear signal from the United Kingdom about how the orderly withdrawal [of the United Kingdom from the European Union] can proceed," Maas said in a statement issued by the Federal Foreign Office late on Wednesday.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, in his turn, welcomed progress in the Brexit talks and thanked EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier for his contribution to it.
"I am very glad about the Brexit agreement that has been approved by the UK cabinet. Now I hope that it will be endorsed by the UK parliament," Kurz wrote on Twitter.
Barnier revealed the contents of the deal, agreed by the United Kingdom and the European Union, late on Wednesday. The accord includes agreements on citizens’ rights, future trade cooperation and Irish border issue among other things.
READ MORE: European Commission Releases Draft Brexit Agreement
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday that the cabinet had approved it.
The agreement needs further approval by the EU Parliament, which has already welcomed the progress reached in the Brexit talks, and the UK legislature, which many consider to be a challenging task.
The United Kingdom is supposed to leave the European Union before late March 2019.