Three years of negotiating on Brexit have dissolved into chaos in Britain, leaving European Union officials frustrated and confused.
European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier,left, and Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, right, shake hands during a news conference following their talks on possible scenarios for Britain's departure from the 28-member bloc in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, March 29, 2019. Morawiecki said that if twice-rejected divorce deal is not approved Friday, the EU is open to Britain's requests for further extension of the departure process for up to 12 months.
“There was no game plan. Well, no strategy,” Philippe Lamberts, a key member of the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group, said of the British approach in an interview with The Associated Press.For decades, the bloc was the target of ridicule in Britain for what was perceived as European hubris and an inefficient bureaucracy. But on Friday, there was very little gloating on the continent as May failed to get the deal through the U.K.
The EU doesn’t want to inflame passions even more, because it also stands to suffer, with hundreds of billions of euros and tens of thousands of jobs at stake for a U.K. exit without transitional measures in place. Even Nigel Farage, a British driving force behind Brexit and staunch EU opponent, has nothing but admiration for Barnier who kept 27 nations aligned as one while Britain, as one, crumbled into chaos.
“Britain is at a dead end,” said Nathalie Loiseau, who was France’s Europe Minister until she resigned this week to run in the May 23-26 EU elections. “Europeans have other priorities than having to wait until the U.K. takes a decision.”
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