LONDON – European Council President Donald Tusk said on Monday Brexit would be discussed at the council meeting on Thursday, including how to help the British government ratify the exit process, but that the Withdrawal Agreement was not up for renegotiation.
READ MORE: Irish border residents fear checkpoints, violence as British Brexit vote nears
“I have decided to call #EUCO on #Brexit (Art. 50) on Thursday,” Tusk said on Twitter.
“We will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate UK ratification. As time is running out, we will also discuss our preparedness for a no-deal scenario.”
WATCH: Theresa May says Brexit vote will be postponed
Prime Minister Theresa May abruptly postponed a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal on Monday, throwing Britain’s plan to leave the European Union into chaos after admitting that she faced a rout.
May‘s move on the eve of the scheduled parliamentary vote opens up an array of possible outcomes ranging from a disorderly Brexit without a deal, a last-minute deal clinched just weeks before Britain’s March 29 exit, or another EU referendum.
Announcing the delay, May was laughed at by some lawmakers when she said there was broad support for her deal reached with the EU last month, the result of 18 months of tortuous negotiations, and that she had listened carefully to different views over it.
— Reporting by Ben Martin; editing by Kate Holton.