The European Union warned on Wednesday that Britain was headed for a damaging no-deal Brexit, with London’s ideas for solving the contentious issue of the Irish border still unlikely to unlock a deal just six weeks before Britain is due to leave.
Axar.az reports citing Reuters that addressing EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had told him on Monday that London still wanted a deal but would leave with or without one on Oct. 31.
“There is very little time left ... The risk of a no-deal is very real,” said Juncker, his comments weighing on sterling.
“It’s time for a clean-break Brexit,” said Brexit campaigner Matthew Patten. Other pro-Brexit EU deputies tried to shout down pro-EU British colleagues, shouting “you lost!” and “rubbish!”
Manfred Weber, leader of the center-right EPP group, called Brexit “stupid”. He and Verhofstadt took aim at British plans for greater sovereignty at a time when the parliament in Westminster has been suspended by Johnson. British pro-EU deputy Julie Ward called the prime minister “disreputable”.
“If the United Kingdom leaves without a deal, all these questions will not disappear. They are still there,” Barnier told the EU chamber. “Some three years after the Brexit referendum we should not be pretending to negotiate.”