European Union (EU) leaders have emphasized that their divorce agreement with Britain can’t be renegotiated — regardless of whom the country elects as its next prime minister, The Associated Press reports.
During a summit of EU officials on Friday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said, “We repeated unanimously that there will be no renegotiating of the withdrawal agreement,” the AP reports.
{mosads}Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel added that the current Brexit agreement “is the best possible deal,” and that “it’s not possible” that “because you change the leader in the U.K. that we need to postpone decisions.”
Britain’s EU departure date has been pushed back to Oct. 31, but it’s unclear whether the country will actually leave then, The Washington Post reports.
The Bank of England warned Thursday that there’s a higher likelihood of a “no-deal” Brexit, the Post reports.
The race to replace former British Prime Minister Theresa May has led to halted progress on Brexit, with increasing concerns that Britain won’t settle a deal on future relations with the EU.
Former London Mayor Boris Johnson is inching closer to becoming the United Kingdom’s next prime minister, and Johnson has said he’s prepared to go ahead with a “no-deal” Brexit and that trade tariffs with the EU can be avoided, even if the U.K. leaves without a divorce agreement.