No progress: MEPs lament Brexit stalemate

No progress: MEPs lament Brexit stalemate
By Joanna GillIsabel Marques da Silva
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On Wednesday, the European Parliament will debate and vote on a resolution on Brexit and the possibility for another extension to avoid a No Deal Scenario.

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While the UK parliament remains suspended, the European Parliament is hard at work, but thoughts remain in Westminster.

Mairead McGuinness, vice-president of the European Parliament, who was chairing a debate on Tuesday quipped: "I'm not going to do 'Order, Order' because I'm not in the House of Commons although I'd like to have that same voice and influence."

Frustration reigns when it comes to Brexit. Following the UK prime minister's visit to Luxembourg, there appears to be little progress in talks, and one member of the influential Brexit Steering Group in the European Parliament reiterated that there is also little faith.

"I think that Boris Johnson has worked very hard in the last few years to project an image of someone who is not trustworthy at least for the other EU 27 and he has succeeded. So in that sense mission accomplished," Philippe Lamberts, (Belgium, Greens/EFA) remarked to reporters in Strasbourg.

Another member of the Brexit committee was more forgiving.

"Boris Johnson failed to present any workable alternative arrangement to the backstop. So that confirms that an agreement is difficult to obtain in the next summit...Of course, we will support an extension of Article 50 if no agreement is reached because that looks to be the only solution to avoid the catastrophic No Deal scenario," Pedro Silva Perreira, Brexit Steering Group, (Portugal, Renew).

On Wednesday MEPs will vote on a Brexit resolution detailing the conditions they would accept yet another extension to the Brexit deadline if the UK should request it.

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