May postpones Brexit deal vote

BRUSSELS — European Union official Donald Tusk says the bloc won't renegotiate the Brexit deal with the U.K. government as he called a summit Thursday to examine ways to help Britain ratify the deal.

Tusk, the president of the European Council, tweeted that "we will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate U.K. ratification."

He said that "as time is running out, we will also discuss our preparedness for a no-deal scenario."

EU leaders were already scheduled to meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to discuss migration and the bloc's future longterm budget, among other issues.

A key member of the European parliament's Brexit team says that British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy has turned into "a game of hide and seek" which will fail to force the EU to renegotiate the U.K. withdrawal deal.

Green MEP Philippe Lamberts told The Associated Press that, despite May's claim to seek additional reassurances to the U.K. deal with the EU that has been already struck, there would be no changes awaiting her at Thursday's EU summit.

Lamberts said that "we are fully behind negotiator Michel Barnier but he has been very clear: if you want Brexit, the deal is on the table and there will be no other deal."

Apart from EU member states, the European Parliament also needs to approve the U.K. withdrawal deal.

File photo, judges preside over a hearing at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The European Union's top court ruled, that Britain can change its mind over Brexit, boosting the hopes of people who want to stay in the EU that the process can be reversed. ASSOCIATED PRESS