European Interest

EU’s Oettinger warns against disorderly Brexit

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“It is not entirely unlikely that the British parliament will vote for the divorce agreement in January,” Commissioner Oettinger told Funke Media Group in an interview.

There is still a chance that Britain’s parliament will vote in favour of the Brexit agreement in January 2019, European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said on December 27. He also stressed there was no public support for a disorderly Brexit or another referendum.

“It is not entirely unlikely that the British parliament will vote for the divorce agreement in January,” Oettinger told Funke Media Group in an interview. “There is certainly no majority for a disorderly Brexit or for a new referendum.”

As reported by the Reuters news agency, Oettinger said that the likelihood of Britain remaining in the EU had increased slightly over the past few months. “Nevertheless, I assume that it will come to an exit at the end of March,” said Oettinger, the EU’s budget commissioner.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to postpone a parliamentary vote on a withdrawal deal she struck with Brussels. All the while, Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29.

As reported by Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster, Oettinger also warned that a messy Brexit without a London-Brussels deal would land Germany a substantial bill. He reckons Britain’s parliament will opt in January for a formal divorce.

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