The Latest on Brexit negotiations (all times local):
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2:15 p.m.
The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator says that what is most needed in divorce negotiations with Britain is decisions, rather than extra time.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has offered Parliament the chance to delay Britain’s scheduled March 29 departure if it again rejects her agreement. EU negotiator Michel Barnier said in Vienna Thursday that any delay “must serve not to put off the problem but to resolve the problem” in the British Parliament.
He added: “Today, above all we need decisions, much more than extra time.”
British lawmakers’ objections to the withdrawal deal have centered on the so-called “backstop” meant to ensure that the border between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland stays open while a future trade relationship is negotiated.
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While the EU and Britain are working on “clarifications,” Barnier stressed anew that “we are not going to change the backstop and … we are not going to reopen the withdrawal agreement.”
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1:40 p.m.
Austria’s leader says he would like to see Brexit resolved before the European Parliament elections in late May because it would be “absurd” for a country that wants to leave the European Union to vote for its legislature.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has offered Parliament the chance to delay Britain’s scheduled March 29 departure if lawmakers fail to approve her divorce agreement with the bloc. EU officials say that, if the U.K. is still a member by the time of the EU elections May 23-26, it would have to take part.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Thursday that if Britain seeks an extension to prevent a disorderly exit, Vienna would back it.
But he said that “ideally” an orderly Brexit should happen by the time of the elections, “because the participation of a country that wants to leave the European Union in European Parliament elections would, I think, seem more than absurd.”
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10:10 a.m.
Irish drivers have been warned they will need a special insurance document to cross the currently invisible border to Northern Ireland after next month if the U.K. leaves the European Union without a deal.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland says it has issued insurance firms with 1 million application forms for the internationally recognized “Green Card” document.
Britain is due to leave the 28-nation Bloc on March 29 and so far Britain’s Parliament has rejected the government’s divorce deal, raising the chance of a chaotic “no deal” Brexit.
Governments in EU countries, as well as in Britain, have warned of potential disruption to trade and travel.
If there is a deal, there will be no change for citizens and businesses until at least the end of 2020.
