EU Sees Increasing Danger of No-Deal Brexit: Summit Update

(Bloomberg) -- European leaders are meeting for a second day of talks in Brussels. On the first day they rebuffed Theresa May’s pleas to help her sell the Brexit agreement to a skeptical U.K. Parliament.

Key Developments

• EU leaders toughened Brexit language in communique
• Juncker says May has to come up with new ideas
• Diplomats say May’s appeal was too vague

Kurz Sees January Summit If May Can’t Win Support (11:10 a.m.)

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says EU leaders may have to get together again next month to work out a way forward if May can’t persuade the U.K. Parliament to back her plans.

"First we need to wait for the vote in parliament, and that that is successful," he told reporters. "If this doesn’t happen I expect that we will get together to discuss it again in January."

Brexit Is Harder Than U.K. Thought, Bettel Says (10:39 a.m.)

Luxembourg’s leader is not holding back his frustrations with the whole Brexit process.

"Remember what was said during the referendum campaign? To leave was like writing a letter to Brussels and it will be done in 24 hours," Xavier Bettel said. "We’ve been debating for two years now."

He urged the British to realize that the deal on the table is better than the alternatives.

"It’s the best possible one, it’s maybe not perfect but a no deal is lose-lose," he said.

Luxembourg Says No (10:18 a.m.)

Bettel is pretty clear about May’s chances of squeezing better terms out of the EU.

"No, no no, no, no. There will be no new negotiations," he said. "It’s out of the question."

And he added his voice to the chorus of warnings about the risks of no deal.

Slovakia Wants to Avoid Another Brexit Summit (10:10 a.m.)

Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said he thinks the EU sent a very positive message to May last night.

"I hope that Theresa May will be able to have majority for voting in January next year," he said. "I hope there will not be another summit."

Still, he warned that Britain leaving without a deal is "always a real possibility."

Michel Calls on Europe to Prepare for No Deal (9:53 a.m.)

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel says the EU needs to step up its preparations in case Britain crashes out without a deal because Brexit isn’t going well.

"The signals we got are not especially reassuring on the capacity in the U.K. to honor the deal agreed," Michel told reporters in Brussels. "My impression is that we need to speed up our preparations because a no-deal is now a real possibility."

Romania Says EU Needs U.K. Lawmakers to Vote (9:43 a.m.)

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis says the European Union doesn’t want to have to rely on the controversial backstop arrangements to handle the issue of the Irish border. But the EU does need to see May go back to parliament to win support for her plans.

"We need a vote from the British Parliament to continue," he told reporters in Brussels before a second day of summit talks.

Earlier:

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