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A Brexit without agreement is now more likely but can still be avoided, said the chief EU negotiator.
Michel Barnier said that he saw three ways to go after the deputies had failed to agree on the latest Brexit proposals: no agreement, a long extension or the only one. Prime Minister's agreement.
"No agreement was desired or the desired scenario, but the EU at 27 is now ready," Barnier said. "It becomes more likely day after day."
Theresa May is preparing for five hours of talks at the Cabinet on Tuesday.
MPs voted on four alternatives to the Prime Minister 's withdrawal agreement, but none of them got the majority.
A customs union with the European Union was rejected by three votes, while a referendum proposal garnered the largest number of votes, but was lost.
The UK is due to leave the EU on April 12 but may request an extension.
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told MEPs that if they wanted more time from the EU, the government should be able to come up with a "credible proposal" for what it would do.
Mr Barnier added that any extension entailed "significant risks for the EU" and that a "strong justification would be needed" before the EU agreed.
One suggestion was the possibility of a general election – but former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg that it would probably "exasperate" voters.
Instead, Johnson said he believes that a new leader and a "change of tactics of negotiation" could "adapt" the "terrible" Prime Minister's agreement with the EU.
MP Hilary Benn, Labor Chair of Brexit's Select Committee, told BBC Radio 4 Today that a confirmation referendum was the best solution.
"The fear is that the prime minister will not move an inch, which is why we are in a crisis," he said.
"A good leader would make that decision and hand it over to the people."
The so-called Monday evening indicative votes were not legally binding, but they had been presented as the moment when Parliament could finally make compromises.
That did not happen, however, and a Conservative MP – Nick Boles, who was behind one of the proposals – resigned the bad out of frustration.
He then tweeted that he would remain a Member of Parliament and sit in the House of Commons as an "independent Progressive Conservative".
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Mrs May's plan to leave the UK was rejected three times by MEPs.
Last week, Parliament withdrew control of the process from the government to hold a series of votes to find another way forward.
Eight options were proposed to the deputies, but none was able to gather a majority and Monday night, four others were rejected. They were:
- Motion C: Commit the government to negotiate a "permanent and comprehensive UK and EU customs union with the EU" under any Brexit agreement.
- Motion D: Called Common Market 2.0, this option would imply membership of the European Free Trade Association and the European Economic Area.
- Motion E: Call for a confirmation referendum, giving the public a vote to approve any agreement on the Brexit pbaded by Parliament before it can be implemented.
- Motion G: Aim to prevent the UK from leaving without an agreement, including a vote on the opportunity to revoke Article 50 – completely halting Brexit – if the EU does not agree to a extension.
Proponents of a customs union argued that their option had been rejected by the narrowest margin – only three votes.
The United Kingdom would remain in the same system of customs duties – taxes on goods as the rest of the EU – potentially simplifying the issue of the Northern Irish border, while preventing it from reaching agreements independent commercials with other countries.
Proponents of another referendum on the EU pointed out that the motion calling for this option had garnered the largest number of votes in favor, with a total of 280.
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Barclay said the only "option" left now was to find a solution that would allow the UK to leave the EU with an agreement – and the only agreement available was that of the prime minister.
If it could be done this week, he added, the UK could avoid taking part in the European Parliament elections in May.
Health Secretary Matt Hanbad agreed that it was time for Ms. May's agreement to be pbaded.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labor Party, said that it was "disappointing" that none of the proposals got a majority, but that he wished to remind the House of Commons that the ## 147 ## Ms. May's agreement had been "overwhelmingly rejected".
He urged deputies to hold a third round of indicative votes Wednesday in the hope that a majority can still be found to go forward.
For months Parliament has been saying, "Let us express ourselves, find the way forward", but in the end they could not do it. Parliament does not know what it wants and we still have many different tribes and factions that do not want to make peace.
This means that from day to day, two things become more likely. One, leave the EU without an agreement. And secondly, a general election, because we are in a dead end.
A former person who thinks it would not be a good idea is former Foreign Secretary and Brexiteer Boris Johnson.
He said that going to the polls would "solve nothing" and "exasperate people". He also said that only a person who "really believes in Brexit" should be in charge once Theresa May resigns. I wonder who it could be …
Listen more to Laura and the Brexitcast gang.
Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb told BBC Look East he was "ashamed to be a member of this Parliament" and attacked members of his own party – five of them voted against a union customs and four against the Common Market 2.0.
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BBC Europe editor Katya Adler said unbelief reigned in Brussels: the UK still did not seem to know what it wanted.
She added that the European leaders also questioned the logic of arguments around a customs union or a common market option, because at the moment, the United Kingdom only has three options: not agree, no Brexit or Theresa May – and any other issues will be dealt with in the upcoming negotiations once the UK left.
And then?
- Tuesday April 2nd: Five-hour cabinet meeting from 9:00 am French time
- Wednesday, April 3rd: Potentially another round of indicative votes
- Thursday, April 4th: Theresa May could report her withdrawal to MPs for a fourth vote
- Wednesday, April 10: European leaders' emergency summit on any request for additional extension of the United Kingdom
- Friday April 12th: Brexit Day, if the UK does not ask / the EU does not grant any additional time
- May 23-26: Elections to the European Parliament
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