The European Union’s top Brexit negotiator has said he is not optimistic about avoiding a no-deal scenario as he cannot meet Britain’s demands to scrap the Irish backstop.
Michel Barnier declared that the so-called backstop had to stay to protect the integrity of the EU’s single market while ensuring an open border in Ireland.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he said: “I am not optimistic about avoiding a no-deal scenario, but we should all continue to work with determination”.
“The backstop is the maximum amount of flexibility that the EU can offer to a non-member state.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal on 31 October.
Opposition lawmakers are planning to act next week to top no-deal in parliament.
Writing in the same newspaper, Johnson’s de facto deputy Michael Gove said that to remove the option of a no-deal Brexit on Oct 31 would “diminish” the “chances of securing changes” to the Brexit deal that could get it passed through parliament.
Via Sky News / Reuters / The Sunday Telegraph
Morning Briefing
Farmers Near Magħtab Blast Told Not to Consume or Sell Produce
Farmers cultivating land near the site of the Magħtab fireworks factory explosion have been instruct...
Kosovo will hold a parliamentary election on Sunday, its third in just 18 months, after its political parties failed to reach a compromise on choosing a new president.
The tiny Balk...
Morning Briefing
Farmers Near Magħtab Blast Told Not to Consume or Sell Produce
Farmers cultivating land near the site of the Magħtab fireworks factory explosion have been instruct...
Updated 1130
Malta Retains Top Global Citizenship Ranking Despite End of Golden Passport Scheme: Malta has retained first place in Henley & Partners’ Global Citizenship Program In...
Former Polish president and anti-communist icon Lech Wałęsa was among the first recipients of the newly established European Order of Merit, receiving the EU’s highest distinction during...
The European Parliament has thrown its weight behind demands for a bigger long-term EU budget, approving its position for negotiations on the bloc’s next seven-year financial framework f...
Coca‑Cola is adjusting ways to keep its drinks both affordable and appealing as consumer demand remains uneven across income groups, CFO John Murphy said at an industry conference on T...
Microsoft is developing new wearable technology with an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled gadget.
The company unveiled two concept products it has developed for people who often us...
“A company’s workplace culture praised by management, needs to be taken with caution. But when the recognition comes directly from employees, that carries greater weight,” says JONATHAN ...
EU lawmakers have approved new rules aimed at strengthening how failing banks are managed, extending protections to a wider range of institutions and depositors across the bloc.
The p...
GO p.l.c., Malta’s leading telecommunications provider, today announced the launch of the MOGOSC project (MOdernisation of the GO-1 Submarine Cable), a strategic infrastructure upgrade t...
Malta Employers extends its congratulations to the Partit Laburista on its victory in the General Election and looks forward to engaging in constructive social dialogue with Prime Minist...
Gulf hostilities flared anew on Wednesday, with the U.S. military saying Iranian missile attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and other regional targets were either thwarted or failed, as diploma...
The United States and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters, though U.S. P...
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in an open letter to the Russian leader on Thursday, saying he was ready for a "full ceasefire...
All members of the European Union agreed to open talks with Ukraine and Moldova on the first cluster of issues in their accession talks, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said ...
