In a BBC interview, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier insisted that the current, thrice defeated Withdrawal Agree is the “only way to leave the EU in an orderly manner”. And, UK will “have to face the consequences” of no-deal Brexit if it’s the chosen path. Additionally, he said EU has “never been impressed” by a no-deal Brexit threat.
In another interview, European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans complained the UK ministers “haven’t got a plan” in Brexit negotiations. “We thought they are so brilliant,” he added. “that in some vault somewhere in Westminster there will be a Harry Potter-like book with all the tricks and all the things in it to do.”
Conservative Party leadership contender Jeremy Hunt said the fact the EU “never believed that no deal was a credible threat” was “one of our mistakes in the last two years”.