European Parliament committees vote in favour of EU-UK trade deal

The European Parliament's two committees overseeing relations with Britain voted overwhelmingly in favour of the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement on Thursday, a precursor to final ratification of the deal.

The foreign affairs and trade committees jointly backed the agreement by 108 votes to one, with four abstentions, the committees said in tweets.

The full parliament still needs to give its approval, the final step in clearing a deal struck between Britain and the European Union in December.