British lawmakers will try once again yesterday to agree a new approach to Brexit after rejecting Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal for a third time, but the European Union warned its patience was wearing thin.
Brussels has set an April 12 deadline to agree the divorce terms May has struck with the bloc, find an alternative or crash out of the European Union. The House of Commons held a first round of votes last week on various Brexit options but failed to agree, and is now hoping to produce a clearer result on Monday.
The main opposition Labour Party is backing two proposals which would keep Britain close to the EU after Brexit, but both would face strong resistance from May and most of her Brexit-backing ministers. As a result, she might still try one last time to get her own deal through this week but time is running out. The EU has called an emergency summit for April 10 and warned that without a plan, Britain risks abruptly ending ties with its largest trading partner two days later, causing huge economic disruption.
“With our British friends we have had a lot of patience, but even patience is running out,” European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker told Italian public TV channel Rai 1.
Britain voted by 52 percent to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum, but the process has been mired in divisions over the terms of the divorce and what kind of future ties to seek.