STRASBOURG, April 18 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Donald Tusk gave a strong warning to Britain on Wednesday in an address here to the European Parliament that there would be no Brexit deal until a solution was found for the still unresolved Irish border issue.
In a debate on the outcomes of the European Summit in March, Tusk explained that the 27 remaining member states of the European Union (EU) had adopted guidelines on the future relationship between the bloc and Britain, and that they welcomed progress that had been made on the withdrawal agreement.
"We want to use the positive momentum in these negotiations to finally settle outstanding issues such as the solution to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland," Tusk told Members of European Parliament (MEPs) gathered for a plenary session.
European leaders are concerned that without a creative solution, there would be a collapse of the Northern Irish peace process, which depends on a soft border between the British province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which will remain an EU member state.
"Without a solution, there will be no withdrawal agreement and no transition," he warned, indicating that European leaders would assess the progress made on the negotiations in June.
The comments come after Tusk confessed "sometimes I am even furious about" Brexit in a speech in Dublin earlier this month. Analysts reckoned that it demonstrates that EU red lines would remain non-negotiable, risking a so-called "hard Brexit", even if progress had been made in other aspects of the talks.
"For Brexit voters, this whole thing is a slow, endless agony," British MEP and leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said in response to Tusk's comments.
"We didn't vote for a transition deal, we voted to leave," he said, adding that British Prime Minister Theresa May was someone who "doesn't really believe in Brexit," and who is "just carrying out the will of the people".
"I'm concerned we're heading for a really bad deal from a British perspective," he said.
"You are right, Mr. Farage, Brexit will not bring any good to anyone," Tusk said in his closing remarks, adding he was "shocked" to find himself agreeing with Farage.
On March 29, 2019, Britain will leave the EU, leaving negotiating teams less than a year to reach agreements in order to ensure a two-year transition period reduces potentially negative impacts.
A "hard Brexit" would happen in the case of no deal, reverting relations between London and Brussels to existing international treaties, such as rules in place under the World Trade Organization (WTO).
