BRUSSELS: British Prime Minister Theresa May returned to face EU leaders Friday after they rebuffed her pleas for help to sell her Brexit plan back home and warned of the growing threat of a “no deal”.
May had sought to persuade her 27 colleagues she could overcome huge opposition to the divorce deal among British MPs if they gave her some assurances over the thorny problem of the Irish border.
But they were not convinced, and European diplomats said May had been unable to explain what she wanted or how she could deliver a British parliamentary majority to endorse the deal.
“The signals we heard yesterday were not particularly reassuring on Britain’s capacity to honour the commitments that were made,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michael said.
“So we will make sure to prepare for all scenarios and prepare also for a no deal scenario,” he added, as he arrived for the second and final day of the EU summit.
On Thursday, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker repeated statements made all week by European leaders that “there is no room whatsoever for renegotiation” of the deal. AFP