No-deal Brexit would be ‘absolute catastrophe’: EU chief
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has warned that a disorderly withdrawal from the European Union for Britain, in which the country would leave the bloc without a deal to define its exit terms and future ties, would create an “absolute catastrophe” on the two sides of the English Channel.
“The risks of a disorderly exit of Great Britain from the European Union are clear. It would be an absolute catastrophe,” Juncker said on Wednesday, adding that the EU was trying to a no-deal Brexit from happening on March 29, 2019, the day in which Britain is expected to leave the EU.
The comments come amid a deepening row in the British parliament over a draft Brexit agreement signed between the British government and the EU last month. Both London and Brussels have insisted that the deal is the best and only option available for Britain. However, a majority of British lawmakers are expected to vote the deal down in a much-anticipated vote in mid-January.
British Prime Minister Theresa May was in Brussels last weekend to win more support for the deal after she pulled a planned vote in the parliament over concerns about one of its controversial clauses which outlines how Britain and the EU should deal with their only land border on the island of Ireland after Brexit.
However, European leaders insisted that they would only be able to give more assurances on the so-called backstop clause while reiterating previous positions that the Brexit deal in its entirety could not be opened for renegotiation.
Juncker told reporters in Brussels that the EU Commission, the powerful executive arm of the EU, would not be able to save the Brexit deal on its own.
“But you need two to perform a decent tango,” said Juncker.
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