LONDON/BRUSSELS (UK/BELGIUM) – The EU on Friday stepped up preparations for a rocky end to the Brexit episode. Its key officials are preparing to brief member states on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to sever the divorce agreement.
London said this week that it has plans to break international law by violating certain parts of the Withdrawal Agreement pact inked in January.
The move is aimed at removing all ambiguities.
Although the bloc demanded the UK should scrap the plan by the end of September, Britain refused, saying parliament was above international law.
After talks in London on Thursday, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the bloc was expediting plans for a no-deal exit by the end of this year as trade negotiations have made little progress.
“The UK has not engaged in a reciprocal way on fundamental EU principles and interests,” Barnier said. “Nobody should underestimate the practical, economic and social consequences of a ‘no deal’ scenario.”