It is one of the clearest indications yet that any bid by the UK to prolong Article 50 will not be straightforward.
ADVERTISEMENTThe time for negotiations between the UK and European Union is over and there will be no more "clarification" on the Withdrawl Agreement.
That’s according to the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who made the comments in an exclusive interview with Euronews.
Brussels will immediately ask "why" if London requests an extension to its deadline to leave the EU, he added.
It is one of the clearest indications yet that any bid by the UK to prolong Article 50 will not be straightforward.
It comes after British MPs again rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit agreement.
If as expected they reject leaving the EU without a deal tonight, on Thursday MPs will vote on whether to ask for an extension to the Brexit deadline. As it stands the UK is set to leave the EU on March 29.
Barnier, speaking to Daniel Cohn Bendit, said: “It could be a tactical, a political prolongation.
“In that case, I know the answers and the reaction of the EU side, the EU leaders, the EU Parliament: what for? Why do you need a prolongation? So is it for organising a new referendum, new elections or not? I cannot answer this question at the place of the UK government.”