British and other European MEPs react to the possibility of extending Article 50.
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A vote on the extension of Article 50 will take place this week if British MPs on Wednesday night decide against leaving the EU without a deal.
Europe's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, sat down for an exclusive interview with Euronews’ Daniel Cohn Bendit on Wednesday to discuss the possibility.
“It is the best and the only deal possible if the UK wants to leave the EU in an orderly manner. The other option is to leave without a deal,” Barnier said.
British MEP Nigel Farage and Dutch MEP Marietje Schaake sat down with Raw Politics host Tesa Arcilla to discuss Barnier’s comments.
Farage — a staunch Brexit supporter — expressed his opposition to the deal, saying it would not support the UK’s best interests.
“I think what we all want really is a genuine free trade agreement, not membership of a political club, and that is what that document did.”
In agreement with Barnier, Schaake, who's with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE), said, “This is the best deal that is on the table”.
Farage predicted that the UK will vote against a no-deal on Wednesday night, despite citizens voting for Brexit in what he called “the biggest democratic exercise” in the UK’s history.
Even if the UK would vote on Thursday to extend Article 50, the measure would still have to be passed unanimously by EU member states.
Turning to Farage, Schaake asked, “Have you talked to, for example, your friends in Italy asking them to veto that kind of extension?”
Without a direct response to the Dutch MEP’s question, Farage said he would be “very happy for it to be a veto”.