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WORLD NEWS Saturday 10 June 2017

Tick-tock: EU says time pressing hard to start Brexit talks

“I don’t think we should talk quipped Verhofstadt, a for- conduct the negotiations
about some prolongation mer Belgian prime minister. on the U.K.’s withdrawal
of the deadline,” he said in The talks were set to of- from the European Union in
Prague. “We should clearly ficially begin on June 19. the best possible spirit, se-
come to terms with the Brit- Now, all remains unclear. curing the least disruptive
ish to start as quickly as pos- The decision of Britain to outcome,” EU Council Pres-
sible.” leave was a shocking and ident Donald Tusk wrote in
In the wake of last year’s cathartic moment in the a congratulatory message
Brexit referendum, called 60-year history of the bloc, to May.
and lost by Prime Minister whose member states want Tusk said the March 2019
David Cameron, Britain’s to keep Britain as a close deadline “leaves us with no
Conservative party took partner once it is out. That is time to lose.
a long time to reorganize why the EU wants the talks EU budget Commission-
itself before it finally trig- to go smoothly. er Guenther Oettinger
gered the Brexit negotia- Within the two years of stressed that the official
tions on March 29. talks, Britain wants to not deadline of March 2019 is a
Britain’s Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn makes an address
after he retained his seat in Islington, London, Friday, June 9, Then in April, Cameron’s only agree on the terms of bit of a stretch in itself.
2017. Britain voted Thursday in an election that started out as an successor, May, called an its exit but also negotiate a To keep within the time-
attempt by Prime Minister Theresa May to increase her party’s early election that again new relationship on things frame, the EU nations
majority in Parliament ahead of Brexit negotiations but was up- stalled talks with Brussels. To like trade and security. The “need a draft agreement
ended by terror attacks in Manchester and London during the make matters worse, she risk of having no deal wor- before end of October
campaign’s closing days. saw her majority evapo- ries some in Britain, particu- next year,” to have enough
(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
rate. larly businesses. time to push it through their
By RAF CASERT underway, many EU na- “I thought surrealism was “Our shared responsibility own decision-making pro-
Associated Press tions and top officials have a Belgian invention,” and urgent task now is to cess. q
BRUSSELS (AP) — Frustrated had enough.
by a year of British foot- May Friday insisted that she
dragging and faced by would stick to the Brexit
more uncertainty in the timetable. But she was
aftermath of the country’s forced into an alliance with
general election, the Euro- a small party in Northern
pean Union on Friday had Ireland, the Democratic
a clear proposal of when Unionist Party, just to stay in
to start the Brexit negotia- power.
tions: How about tomorrow “This government will guide
morning? the country through the
“Half past nine,” suggested crucial Brexit talks ... and
EU Commission President deliver on the will of the
Jean-Claude Juncker. British people by taking the
That doesn’t look likely. United Kingdom out of the
It long seemed like Britain European Union,” she said.
could not get out of the Eu- Guy Verhofstadt, the Eu-
ropean Union fast enough. ropean Parliament’s top
Now that it has decided to Brexit official, is eager to
jump ship, it seems it can’t get talks started.
get its act together to ac- “I hope the U.K. will soon
tually leave. have a stable government
Prime Minister Theresa May to start negotiations,” he
decided to hold a snap told The Associated Press.
election to boost her ma- “It is not only about the
jority and strengthen her U.K., but also about the fu-
hand in EU divorce talks. ture of Europe.”
The opposite happened The Czech prime minis-
as she lost her majority and ter said Friday that Britain
undermined her own au- should not be granted any
thority as prime minister. extension on the two-year
Now with the anniversary deadline for the Brexit talks.
of Britain’s landmark June Bohuslav Sobotka said that
23 Brexit vote looming and too much time had already
still no serious negotiations been wasted.