No-deal Brexit more likely by the day: EU’s Barnier

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Britain could still accept the already-negotiated deal, leave without an agreement, or ask for a long extension to Brexit. (AP)
  • ‘Over the last days a no-deal scenario has become more likely, but we can still hope to avoid it’
  • Britain could still accept the already-negotiated deal, leave without an agreement, or ask for a long extension to Brexit

BRUSSELS: Britain has become more likely in the recent days to crash out of the European Union without a divorce agreement, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday.
“Over the last days a no-deal scenario has become more likely, but we can still hope to avoid it,” Barnier said, adding the EU was ready to accept Britain staying the EU’s customs union or a relationship akin to the one the EU has with Norway.
Speaking at an event in Brussels after the British parliament rejected any alternatives to Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal, Barnier said Britain now had three choices before the April 12 leaving date.
He said Britain could still accept the already-negotiated deal, leave without an agreement, or ask for a long extension to Brexit, which would entail organizing European Parliament elections in Britain in May.