STRASBOURG, France (AP) — The Latest on Brexit (all times local):
9 a.m.
Britain’s government says it won’t impose new checks and controls on goods at the Northern Ireland-Republic of Ireland border if the U.K. leaves the European Union without an agreement on future relations.
The policy is part of temporary tariff regime unveiled Wednesday to inform lawmakers who will vote later on whether to eliminate the possibility of a no-deal exit from the EU. The regime will last for up to 12 months.
As part of the plan, the government says there would be no tariffs on 87 percent of imports by value, a “modest liberalization” compared with current trade rules.
A mixture of tariffs and quotas will apply to beef, lamb, pork, poultry and some dairy “to support farmers and producers who have historically been protected through high EU tariffs.”
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8:55 a.m.
The European Parliament’s chief Brexit official has questioned whether a short extension of the March 29 Brexit deadline can be given if Britain doesn’t emerge from its political chaos on the issue.
Guy Verhofstadt said that in the wake of the U.K. parliament’s rejection of the Brexit deal, the European legislature had no reason to act on pushing back the deadline to avoid a chaotic British exit from the bloc.
Verhofstadt said that “I don’t see reason to give any extension if first of all we don’t know what the majority position is of the House of Commons.”
He said that “we are waiting now for a proposal coming from London. It is now in London that they have to find a way out of this and break the deadlock.”
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8:45 a.m.
The European Union’s economic commissioner says the British parliament has squandered its last chance to secure a deal smoothing the way for Brexit.
Pierre Moscovici has told France-2 television that the EU has “done everything we could do” to reassure British lawmakers, who rejected British Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU divorce deal for a second time Tuesday.
Moscovici said “the train has passed two times” and the EU will not renegotiate the deal before the scheduled Brexit date of March 29.
He left the door open to an eventual delay if the British request it, but only if there’s a clear justification. He said the British have already said what they don’t want, and now “it’s up to the British to say what they want.”
Moscovici said Tuesday’s vote increases chances of a British departure that is “disorderly, brutal, like a cliff,” including sudden new customs rules and trade chaos.
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8:20 a.m.
Germany’s foreign minister says the U.K. Parliament’s rejection of the Brexit deal negotiated on Britain’s departure from the European Union was “reckless.”
Heiko Maas says the EU made “far-reaching additional offers and assurances” at Britain’s request this week.
In remarks released late Tuesday, Maas said the U.K. Parliament’s decision to reject the deal “brings a no-deal scenario ever closer.”
He added that “whoever rejects the agreement plays with the welfare of their citizens and the economy in a reckless way.”
Maas said Germany is prepared “as best as possible for this worst possible case,” though Germany hopes a disorderly Brexit can still be avoided in the coming 17 days.
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8:10 a.m.
The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator says Britain must finally get its act together as a chaotic no-deal departure from the bloc is little more than two weeks away.
Michel Barnier said Wednesday it was time for Westminster to change tack, after the U.K. parliament handed Prime Minister Theresa May another huge defeat on her freshly renegotiated Brexit deal.
Barnier said that “again the House of Commons says what it does not want. Now this impasse can only be solved in the U.K.”
The EU parliament’s Brexit group was meeting to assess the situation in Strasbourg, France before a plenary debate on the impasse.
British lawmakers rejected May’s Brexit deal in a 391-242 vote on Tuesday night. Parliament will vote Wednesday on whether to leave the EU without a deal.
