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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Brexit: Donald Tusk warns UK against 'no deal threat' | Brexit: Donald Tusk warns UK against 'no deal threat' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The EU will "not be intimidated" by threats about the UK leaving with no deal, Donald Tusk has said. | The EU will "not be intimidated" by threats about the UK leaving with no deal, Donald Tusk has said. |
| He said suggestions the UK would be better off leaving with no deal, rather than with a bad deal, "increasingly take the form of a threat". | He said suggestions the UK would be better off leaving with no deal, rather than with a bad deal, "increasingly take the form of a threat". |
| The European Council president told the European Parliament that in the Brexit talks "a no deal scenario would be bad for everyone but above all for the UK". | The European Council president told the European Parliament that in the Brexit talks "a no deal scenario would be bad for everyone but above all for the UK". |
| He said the "goal is a smooth divorce" with the UK and EU as "good friends". | He said the "goal is a smooth divorce" with the UK and EU as "good friends". |
| Mr Tusk made the remarks at the last meeting of the European Parliament before the UK triggers Article 50, which kick-starts Britain's withdrawal from the EU and is expected to happen later this month. | |
| Orderly manner | |
| They also come after the EU withdrawal bill was backed by the House of Lords, clearing the way for it to receive Royal Assent and become law. | |
| He said the EU was "carefully preparing" for Brexit and "it is our wish to make this process constructive and conducted in an orderly manner". | |
| But he warned: "However, the claims, increasingly taking the form of threats that no agreement will be good for the UK, and bad for the EU, need to be addressed. | |
| "I want to be clear that a 'no deal scenario' would be bad for everyone, but above all for the UK, because it would leave a number of issues unresolved. | |
| "We will not be intimidated by threats - and I can assure you they simply will not work. | |
| "Our goal is to have a smooth divorce and a good framework for the future - and it is good to know that Prime Minister Theresa May shares this view." | |
| Mr Tusk also stressed that he would "do everything in my power to make sure that the EU and the UK will be close friends in the future", adding that "Britain will be dearly missed as an EU member state". | |
| "At the same time, I would like to stress again that the EU's door will always remain open for our British friends," he said. |