EU leaders meeting in Austria this week will consider convening a special summit on Brexit in November, and the real possibility of a catastrophic no-deal exit by the U.K. in March, European Council President Donald Tusk said.
In a letter to EU leaders Monday evening ahead of a summit in Salzburg, Austria, Tusk told the heads of state and government that they would discuss the joint political declaration on the EUs future relationship with the U.K., and that they should consider calling a November summit in Brussels in the hope of completing a withdrawal treaty.
“First, we should reach a common view on the nature and overall shape of the joint political declaration about our future partnership with the U.K.,” Tusk wrote. “Second, we will discuss how to organize the final phase of the Brexit talks, including the possibility of calling another European Council in November. Third, we should reconfirm the need for a legally operational backstop on Ireland, so as to be sure that there will be no hard border in the future.”
Tusk warned there is still a major risk of a no-deal Brexit. “Unfortunately, a no deal scenario is still quite possible. But if we all act responsibly, we can avoid a catastrophe.”
