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| European Council President Donald Tusk |
The European Union will make no new offer on Brexit and those who promoted Britain’s exit without any understanding of how to deliver it deserve a special place in hell, Council President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday.
The United Kingdom is on course to leave the European Union on March 29 without a deal unless Prime Minister Theresa May can convince the bloc to reopen the divorce deal she agreed in November and then sell it to sceptical British lawmakers.
As companies and governments across Europe step up preparations for the turmoil of a no-deal exit, diplomats and officials said the United Kingdom now faces three main options: a no-deal exit, a last-minute deal or a delay to Brexit.
Rebuffing May’s bid to renegotiate just a day before she is due in Brussels, Tusk said he wished the United Kingdom would reverse Brexit but that the bloc was preparing for a disorderly British exit as it would not gamble on peace in Ireland.
He said he no longer believed there was a way to stop Britain leaving due to the “pro-Brexit stance” of both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.
“I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely,” Tusk said at a joint news conference with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
The remark, which will anger Brexit supporters in Britain, was tweeted from his account as he spoke the words, indicating it was not an off-the-cuff remark.
Brexiteer Nigel Farage responded: “After Brexit we will be free of unelected, arrogant bullies like you – sounds like heaven to me.”
