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European Union leaders fear Prime Minister Theresa May's shock loss of her majority in the snap British election will delay Brexit talks due to start this month, and so raise the risk of negotiations failing.
EU Commission chief Juncker also said that he hopes that the election result will cause no further delays in Brexit talks.
Tusk’s reference to the March 2019 deadline when Britain will be out of the European Union with or without an agreed deal to avoid legal limbo for people and businesses reflected mounting concern that British chaos could further disrupt all of Europe.
"Do your best to avoid a 'no deal' as result of 'no negotiations'," Tusk said, calling for urgency to avert the risk that, having bound Britain in March to a two-year countdown to Brexit, May's failed electoral gamble could waste further time.
Oettinger's boss, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, told a German paper: "It's up to the British to make the next move... We've been ready to negotiate for months."
Juncker's Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier made clear talks could only now start once Britain has a team in place: “Brexit negotiations should start when UK is ready,” he tweeted.
“Timetable and EU positions are clear. Let's put our minds together on striking a deal.”
Few Europeans voiced much sympathy for May. Some compared her to her predecessor David Cameron, who sought to silence Eurosceptic fellow Conservatives by calling the referendum on EU membership, which ended his career and shocked Europe.
(The copy has been shortened for length.)
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