Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte tells Theresa May to ‘wake up’ to threat of no-deal Brexit
2 min read
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has told Theresa May to "wake up" to the risk that Britain could leave the European Union without a deal.
Mr Rutte said the Prime Minister was “sleepwalking” towards disaster after she once again delayed a vote on her Brexit deal, and suggested Article 50 should be delayed.
Speaking after holding talks with the Prime Minister at a summit in Shark El Sheikh, Egypt, he told the BBC: “I will be straightforward… What you guys are doing – leaving the EU in this time of insecurity in the world, instability in the EU – is the wrong decision.”
"Then having a process that might lead to no deal – it’s four weeks until the end date and still the UK has not agreed a position. So, now we are sleepwalking into a no deal scenario. It’s unacceptable and your best friends have to warn you now.
“Wake up. This is real. Come to a conclusion and close the deal."
EU Council chief Donald Tusk has also called on Mrs May to consider delaying the Article 50 process, saying it was “absolutely clear” there was no majority in the House of Commons to approve any deal.
He said: “We will face an alternative chaotic Brexit or an extension.
“The less time there is until 29 March, the greater the likelihood of an extension, and this is an objective fact – not our intention, not our plan, but an objective fact.”
His comments came after a breakfast meeting between Mrs May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel where the pair had a “fleeting” discussion about delaying Brexit.
But during a press conference today, the Prime Minister hit back at the suggestions, saying: “Any delay is a delay, it doesn’t address the issue, it doesn’t resolve the issue.
“I think that any extension of Article 50 in that sense isn’t dealing with the issues."
MPs will get a fresh vote on Mrs May’s deal by 12 March, just 17 days before the UK is due to leave the EU.
The Prime Minister added: “I’ve had a real sense from the conversations I’ve had here…we can leave with a deal it is within our grasp. There is an opportunity to leave with a deal on 29 March and that’s what we are going to be working on.”
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