Any delay to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union "must serve not to put off the problem but to resolve the problem" in the British parliament, EU negotiator Michel Barnier said Thursday.

"Today, above all we need decisions, much more than extra time," he added.

After a meeting with Barnier in Vienna, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he would also like to see Brexit resolved before European elections in May. It would "seem more than absurd" for a country wanting to leave the bloc to be able to vote for its legislature, he said.

On Wednesday, more than 500 MPs in the 650-seat parliament backed a plan to vote on British Prime Minister's Brexit deal on March 12. If lawmakers reject the deal, the plan foresees another parliamentary vote on whether the UK should leave the EU without a deal or delay it's March 29 exit date.

UK approach

May has been struggling to gain enough support from hard-line pro-Brexit MPs within her Conservative Party and Northern Ireland's DUP party, which props up her government, for the existing withdrawal agreement.

Prime Minister Theresa May speaking in the House of Commons

In recent weeks, her government has tried to convince EU leaders to accept legal guarantees that would make the deal's so-called Irish backstop temporary. Critics fear the backstop could force the UK to follow EU rules indefinitely.

But EU leaders have repeatedly said they would not agree to any legal changes to the existing deal.

Barnier reiterated that position in Vienna, telling reporters that the EU was "not going to reopen the withdrawal agreement."

Another one bites the dust

On Thursday, George Eustice, a junior minister in the UK's agriculture ministry, resigned from his post in protest of May's three-step plan.

The decision to offer parliament the power to delay Brexit would "lead to a sequence of events culminating in the EU dictating the terms of any extension requested and the final humiliation of our country," he said.

This septic isle It never rains A delay by UK Prime Minister Theresa May to allow Parliament to vote on her Brexit deal has increased the chances Britain will leave the bloc without a deal in March. The odds on a no-deal Brexit have shortened to 2/1, according to oddschecker.com, while Steve Eisman, the trader whose prediction of the 2008 crisis was dramatized in the film The Big Short, is betting against UK banks.

This septic isle Money where your mouth is The IMF says that while some sectors like agriculture and mining might benefit, the majority of sectors would shrink by between about 1 percent and 33 percent. The Bank of England said no-deal would wipe between 4.75 percent and 7.75 percent off what the UK would have produced by 2024 and the pound would fall by 25 percent.

This septic isle Not waving, but drowning The EU has said the UK would have "third country" status under a no-deal scenario, giving it the same status as China, Russia and Pakistan. All goods crossing EU borders would be subject to tariffs of up to 38 percent. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said additional paperwork attached to trading under WTO rules would act as an extra tariff of up to an average of 6.5 percent.

This septic isle Love's labor lost Britain’s farmers and manufacturers face the largest shortage of skilled workers since 1989 due to a fall in the numbers of EU27 nationals coming to work since the Brexit vote. A no deal would likely accelerate that process.

This septic isle A road to nowhere The financial industry and British regulators say a hard Brexit poses a threat to trillions of euros worth of derivative and insurance contracts London could lose up to to €800 billion to Frankfurt, lobby group Frankfurt Main Finance has said. Some 30 banks and financial firms have already chosen the city as the site of their new EU headquarters, with others opting for Dublin or Paris.

This septic isle Movers and shakers left in limbo No-deal would have significant implications for people's ability to go where they want. A €7 charge for visiting the EU's Schengen Area would kick in in 2021, after the UK's transition period ends. British expats would face uncertainty, as many foreign governments have not yet established their rules for residency under no-deal.

This septic isle Can't beat a good queue The UK Road Haulage Association has said a lack of planning over no-deal would mean the manufacturing sector would be put under "severe pressure" and hauliers would go out of business. European airports have warned that no-deal would cause "major disruption and heightened safety risks" to the air network. Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary has warned planes could be grounded.

This septic isle All in it together The biggest impact of no deal could be felt in Ireland, which exports 12 percent of its goods and 40 percent of its food to the UK, and two-thirds of its other exports travel through the UK. The IMF believes the Netherlands, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Belgium also face taking moderate hits to their economies of between 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent.

This septic isle Where there is harmony, May brings discord The Police Federation has said it was worried about "widescale disruption and dangers for the general public." Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has said 3,500 troops are on standby to cope with the fallout of no deal. The government is preparing for potential shortages of key items in the wake of a no-deal Brexit. But May refused to guarantee the health service (NHS) would have enough medicines.

This septic isle Christmas-voting turkeys play chicken in Ireland The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would remain unresolved with no deal. The main sticking point has been the Irish 'backstop' — the insurance scheme for avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland. One solution has been a Canada-style agreement that would remove most EU restrictions but would not abolish the need for a hard border. But uncertainty breeds fear. Author: Jo Harper



Meanwhile, the opposition Labour party has said it would put forward an amendment calling for a second EU referendum when the next "meaningful vote" is held. However, opposition to a second public vote within Labour and the Conservative Party makes its chances of success slim.

No-deal fears

With 29 days to go before the UK is scheduled to leave the EU, businesses are starting to scramble to prepare themselves for a potentially chaotic "no-deal" exit.

Drivers in the Republic of Ireland were told Thursday that they would need an insurance document to cross the border into Northern Ireland if both sides failed to reach a deal.

Watch video 02:14 Share Brexit 'betrays' working class Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3EF1a Brexit hardliners 'betray' working class

jm/amp (Reuters, AP)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.