EU presidency urges Britain to ditch Brexit

Agencies/ Sofia : Bulgaria, which holds the presidency of the EU, on Thursday warned of poor progress in Brexit talks and told Britain it was still not too late to abandon its plan to quit the bloc.

 Boyko Borisov, the Bulgarian prime minister, said he had so far seen nothing in the talks on Britain’s exit in March 2019 to give him hope for a good outcome.

The comments will come as a blow to British Prime Minister Theresa May as her senior ministers embark on a flurry of speeches to outline Britain’s ambitions for Brexit. “I really hope that the talks on Brexit will take a turn, so that no damage will be incurred for anyone,” Borisov told reporters in Sofia, where EU foreign ministers are gathering for talks.

 “I’m not a big optimist. So far I haven’t seen any progress than can really reassure me.” The EU wants to finish talks on the post-Brexit transition period by the end of March so negotiations on future ties with Britain can start, but has warned that deadline could be pushed back if there is no progress from London.

May’s government is battling deep divisions between Brexit moderates and hardliners as it prepares for crucial talks with Brussels over the future relationship, which start in April.