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BRITAIN-EU-GERMANY-BREXIT-DIPLOMACY
Germany sees no reason to delay Brexit
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Jan 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – German Foreign Minister Heiko
Maas said Wednesday that delaying Brexit beyond March 29 would make no
“sense”, after a vote in London brought a crushing defeat for a withdrawal
deal negotiated with the EU.
“It would only make sense (to extend the deadline) if there is a path to
the goal of a deal between the EU and Great Britain,” Maas said in an
interview on Deutschlandfunk public radio.
For now, “that is not the majority view in the British parliament,” he
added.
British Prime Minister Theresa May also this week argued that Brexit
should not be pushed back, although she did not rule it out completely.
Maas added that he was doubtful any significant improvements could be made
to the draft withdrawal agreement on the table — negotiated over two years
since London notified Brussels it would quit the European Union.
“We have a compromise,” Maas said. “If more could have been offered, it
would have been done weeks ago.”
The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) politician added that he
hoped a no-confidence vote Wednesday fails to topple May’s government.
“We need a stable government for the negotiations,” he said.
May’s hard-fought Brexit deal suffered the worst defeat for any British
leader in history Tuesday night, as 432 MPs voted against and just 202 in
favour — leaving the country’s future foggy with its legally binding
departure date just 10 weeks away.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1414 hrs