‘We can do no more, solution is down to you now,’ EU officials tell Westminster

‘With only 17 days left until March 29, this vote has significantly increased the likelihood of no-deal Brexit’

THE EU can do nothing more to break the Brexit deadlock in the House of Commons, the European Commission and the president of the European Council said after MPS rejected Mrs May’s deal.

“On the EU side we have done all that is possible to reach an agreement. It is difficult to see what more we can do. If there is a solution to the current impasse it can only be found in London,” said Donald Tusk’s spokesman.

He warned that “with only 17 days left to March 29, today’s vote has significantly increased the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit”.

However, he also indicated that the bloc would listen to a British request for an extension to the Article 50 negotiation period, which is expected to be voted on in the House of Commons tomorrow.

The spokesman said: “Should there be a reasoned request for an extension, the EU27 will consider it and decide by unanimity. The EU27 will expect a credible justification for a possible extension and its duration.”

The European Commission warned that any extension would need to take into account the “reasons for and duration of a possible extension”, which could include a general election or another referendum.

Jean-claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission and an architect of the Maastricht Treaty, warned MPS that they faced the risk of no Brexit at all if they didn’t pass the deal. “We have done all that is possible to help the Prime Minister get the deal – which she negotiated and agreed with the EU – ratified,” the commission spokesman said.

EU sources told The Telegraph that the bloc would not offer any further concessions. They were echoing Mr Juncker who said that the assurances granted on Monday night over the Irish border backstop were a second chance for the British Parliament but that there would be no third chance.

Martin Selmayr, the European Commission’s powerful secretary-general, retweeted a message saying that “there will be no further talks” on Brexit.

Yesterday morning, the president of the European Commission had felt confident enough to venture a joke in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “Allow me to tell you a secret: I didn’t sleep much because of Mrs May last night,” he told MEPS before once again urging MPS to back the deal.

But the debate in the House of Commons left Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, unimpressed.

He scolded MPS for their mistaken belief that they could enjoy a transition period, which gives businesses more time to prepare for Brexit by effectively extending the UK’S membership of the EU for 18 months, without agreeing the deal.

“There seems to be a dangerous illusion that the UK can benefit from a transition in the absence of the Withdrawal Agreement,” he said. “Let me be clear: the only legal basis for a transition is the Withdrawal Agreement. No Withdrawal Agreement means no transition.”

After the vote, he said: “The EU has done everything it can to help get the Withdrawal Agreement over the line. The impasse can only be solved in the UK. Our no-deal preparations are now more important than ever before.”

The focus in Brussels was already shifting back to an extension after the Prime Minister’s last-ditch dash to Strasbourg to secure assurances over the Irish border backstop.

EU diplomats were pessimistic about her ability to marshal a majority in the Commons.

They predicted that EU leaders would consider a British request for an extension and its length at a March 21 summit, the last before the Brexit deadline of March 29.

EU27 ambassadors will meet this morning to discuss the next steps.

At an earlier briefing, the ambassadors were told that a short extension should have a deadline of May 24. A longer extension would mean Britain could have to take part in the European Parliament elections.

EU leaders are thought to be divided about whether a short or long extension will best serve their purposes ahead of a European election that has been painted as a battle for the EU soul between populist and Europhile forces. Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator, said: “Brexit was about taking back control, instead the UK spiralled out of control, only cross-party cooperation putting country first can end this mess.”

One EU diplomat asked if Theresa May would even still be in control of the Brexit process by the time voters went to the polls.