Brussels: Britain and the European Union (EU) agreed Thursday to hold more talks to try to avoid a no-deal Brexit, after a ‘robust’ meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.
A joint statement issued after the talks here said Juncker had again warned that November’s withdrawal agreement could not be renegotiated – after May came hoping to persuade Brussels to change the so-called ‘backstop’ clause for the Irish border.
But Juncker expressed only his ‘openness to add wording’ to a parallel political declaration laying out ambitions for future EU-UK ties if London wants to seek a ‘more ambitious’ closer relationship after Brexit.
After his own talks with May, EU president Donald Tusk warned there was ‘no breakthrough in sight’, though the British leader said she had seen willingness from Brussels to find a deal.
“Prime Minister May did not offer any new concrete proposals on the way forward,” an EU official told this agency after May’s meeting with Tusk.
Talk has been growing that Britain may have to delay Brexit to give enough time to get the necessary legislation through Parliament, but May vowed once again to bring Britain out of the bloc on schedule, March 29.
“I’m going to deliver Brexit, I’m going to deliver it on time. That’s what I’m going to do for the British public. I’ll be negotiating hard in the coming days to do just that,” May asserted.
In another development regarding the urgency of finding a solution before Brexit day, Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned that Britain’s economy was ‘not yet prepared’ for a no-deal departure.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier will now meet British Brexit Minister Stephen Barclay in Strasbourg, Monday, but an EU official described these as ‘exploratory talks’, adding: “There is no mandate to negotiate.” May herself will meet Juncker again before the end of February, a commission spokesman said.
AFP