FILE PHOTO: European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier holds a news conference after a General Affairs Council on Article 50 in Brussels, Belgium March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

WARSAW (Reuters) - Britain will need to tell the European Union what it wants to do on Brexit by April 12 if parliament fails on Friday to back the EU withdrawal treaty, the bloc’s negotiator Michel Barnier said.

In a speech in Warsaw, Barnier made clear that a deadline set by EU leaders last week for Prime Minister Theresa May to pass the withdrawal agreement expired at the end of the day. If it is missed, leaders have told Britain it has until April 12 to propose some other strategy.

The prospect of Britain leaving without a deal to smooth the withdrawal was not the EU’s preferred option, Barnier said, but it was becoming more likely.