The European Union's top Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he was not o...
European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier arrives at a meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels, Belgium, August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
LONDON - The European Union’s top Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he was not optimistic about avoiding a no-deal scenario as the EU could not meet Britain’s demands that the backstop for the Irish border is removed from the withdrawal agreement. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Barnier said that the so-called “backstop” had to stay to protect the integrity of the EU’s single market while ensuring an open border on the island of Ireland.
“I am not optimistic about avoiding a no-deal scenario, but we should all continue to work with determination,” Barnier said, according to extracts of his article on the newspaper’s front page.Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal on October 31. Opposition lawmakers plan to act next week to stop no-deal in parliament.
Writing in the same newspaper, Johnson’s de facto deputy Michael Gove said that to remove the option of a no-deal Brexit on Oct 31 would “diminish” the “chances of securing changes” to the Brexit deal that could get it passed through parliament.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
EU fears of a no-deal Brexit soar as UK defends its actionsEuropean Union concern over a no-deal Brexit accelerates as British Foreign Secretary defends his government's decision to suspend parliament and contends the move has nothing to do with preventing lawmakers from debating the country's exit from the EU.
Read more »
Brexit: PM Johnson faces mounting legal, political, diplomatic challengesPrime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit plan was facing mounting legal, polit...
Read more »
Brexit endgame: It's Johnson vs parliament in historic showdownAfter more than 1,000 days of political brawling, hordes of headlines and dizzyi...
Read more »
Ireland says Britain 'totally unreasonable' in Brexit backstop disputeIreland accused Britain of being 'totally unreasonable' over Brexit on...
Read more »
Ireland, Britain dispute existence of 'credible' Brexit backstop plansIreland said on Friday Britain had not made credible proposals on replacing the ...
Read more »