The European Commission’s president has told the UK it needs to get its “act together” over Brexit.
Jean-Claude Juncker branded some Britons “entirely unreasonable” for expecting the EU to come up with solutions to help get Theresa May’s deal through Parliament.
And he rejected Brexiteers’ claims that Brussels was plotting to keep the UK inside the bloc “by all possible means”.
May faced a bruising encounter with EU leaders earlier this month after she vowed to seek fresh guarantees Britain will not be indefinitely kept in the Northern Ireland backstop part of her agreement.
The Prime Minister returned to Brussels following her decision to postpone a Commons vote on the deal on 11 December in the face of almost-certain defeat.
Speaking to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Juncker said: “It is not us who are leaving the United Kingdom – it is the United Kingdom that is leaving the European Union.
“I find it entirely unreasonable for parts of the British public to believe that it is for the EU alone to propose a solution for all future British problems.
“My appeal is this: get your act together and then tell us what it is you want. Our proposed solutions have been on the table for months.”
The European Commission chief – who was photographed in an apparently heated discussion with May at this month’s summit – said he believed that most parliamentarians in the UK had little faith in either Brussels or the Prime Minister.
“I have the impression that the majority of British MPs deeply distrust both the EU and Mrs May,” he said.
But he added: “It is being insinuated that our aim is to keep the United Kingdom in the EU by all possible means. That is not our intention.”
MPs are now due to vote on May’s withdrawal agreement in the week of January 14. Following her decision to pull the Commons vote, May faced an internal no-confidence vote brought by Tory back bench MPs. She managed to survive by 200 to 117 votes.
If Theresa May's deal is rejected the UK could face a no-deal withdrawal or a People's Vote
However, the bid to buy more time to secure key concessions on the Irish backstop, the key flashpoint for DUP and Brexiteers opposed to the deal, faltered when EU leaders refused to change the legal text of the agreement.The PM said talks would continue, although the EU has repeatedly warned negotiations over the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened.
Should MPs reject it when they vote in the coming weeks it could raise the prospect of no-deal and with it the risk of heavy economic consequences for the UK and EU, or a second referendum on Brexit.
READ MORE: Scots urged to lead campaign for People's Vote on Brexit
Juncker also said in the interview published yesterday that it was up to people in the UK to decide if the final decision is put back to the voters in a second referendum or so-called People’s Vote. However he added he was “working on the assumption that [the UK] will leave, because that is what the people of the United Kingdom have decided”.
“I have the impression that the majority of British MPs deeply distrust both the EU and Mrs May,” Juncker added.
“It is being insinuated that our aim is to keep the United Kingdom in the EU by all possible means. That is not our intention.”
Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the Government had put the UK into a “ridiculous” position.
He tweeted: “Combination of false Brexit promises and useless Government. No deal has never been viable and, as every day passes, it becomes less so.”
But the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford, retorted: “The SNP, Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and Green Party are all working together to try and get a People’s Vote.
“Why don’t Labour work with us and others on the Government benches to stop this madness? Labour will not be forgiven for standing aside.
“You can call me anytime.”
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