French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Britain would be the biggest loser if it left the European Union without a deal, after the British parliament resoundingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit divorce agreement.
Macron was reaching the end of an almost seven-hour debate with local officials when he was told of the result of the British vote.
"First option, they go toward a no deal. They say: 'there is no deal'. That's scary for everybody. The first losers in this would be the British," Macron told mayors during a town hall meeting in Normandy.
"Second option, they tell us - in my view, that's what they'll do, I know them a bit - 'we'll try to improve what we can get from the Europeans and we'll get back for a vote'," Macron said.
"In that case, we'll look into it, maybe we'll make improvements on one or two things, but I don't really think so because we've reached the maximum of what we could do with the deal and we won't, just to solve Britain's domestic political issues, stop defending European interests," he said.
After praising the head of the European Council Donald Tusk and the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Macron said he expected Britain to eventually ask for more time to renegotiate a deal.
"There's a third option, which is to say - and in my view they'll start with the second option and then
we'll eventually end up with the third - 'actually, we're going to take more time to renegotiate something'," he said.
"It creates a great deal of uncertainty and worries."
Comment: RT
reports that it seems no one in the EU really wants a no-deal Brexit:
German minister says 'hard Brexit would hurt everyone in Europe' after historic defeat of May's deal
It is up to British legislators to avoid a "hard Brexit" because the EU will not substantially renegotiate its terms, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said. An exit with no deal would hurt both the EU and UK, he said.
Britain still has "a few days" before the scheduled departure date of March 29 to come up with a Brexit roadmap, the German minister told public broadcaster ZDF. The substance of the deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May's cabinet with the EU is "non-negotiable," but some minor details may yet be changed, he suggested.
Altmaier said it was up to British legislators, who defeated May's proposal in a record 'nay' vote on Tuesday, to come up with an alternative. A "hard Brexit" would hurt both the EU and Britain, he warned. "Everyone in Europe would lose, nobody would win," the minister stated.
The defeat of the Brexit deal in the British Parliament was followed by a motion of no confidence in May's government from the opposition Labour Party. The vote on the motion is scheduled for Wednesday, and the outcome is far from certain. The prime minister already survived one vote of no confidence from her own party over the terms she managed to get from Brussels.
The no confidence vote went ahead and PM May won by a very slim margin.
More from RT on the EU negotiator's position:
Risk of 'no deal' Brexit has never been so high - EU negotiator Barnier
The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has told the European Parliament that the risk of no deal on Brexit has never been higher, and that he fears "more than ever" a chaotic UK departure from the bloc.
Barnier hinted that the EU is ready to renegotiate a new deal on Britain exiting the EU if London is willing to give way on some of the pre-existing 'red lines' hammered out in the previous, now defeated, Brexit plan put forth by embattled Prime Minister Theresa May.
The EU negotiator did, however, insist that preventing a physical border on the island of Ireland was non-negotiable.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is currently just about propping up May's minority government, does not view an Article 50 extension as necessary.
"I don't think [an extension of Article 50] is inevitable, and it's not in my view necessary because the EU can act when it wants to," DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said, as quoted by Reuters. "On the [Irish] backstop, people want to see that we are not trapped into it."
Conservative British MP and Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom stated that she believes Prime Minister Theresa May will survive Wednesday's no-confidence vote, reiterating that the government has been engaging with opposition party leadership on the Brexit issue.
Leadsom added that all parties must find a way to salvage May's original deal, in part at least, or find an alternative to put to the EU as quickly as possible.
"The prime minister will then not necessarily be looking for brand new ideas that no one has thought of before, but actually seeking a consensus, actually a fresh initiative to find a solution that is negotiable with the European Union and that would command a majority in the House of Commons," Leadsom said.
The Tory was steadfast in rejecting claims that the current British government would not delay Article 50, and that while a 'no-deal' Brexit is not ideal, it is, however, the legal default in a worst-case scenario.
Meanwhile, Belgium's Guy Verhofstadt has called for all parties to "come out of the trenches" and agree a common policy position on Brexit, but said that Britain must offer more leeway on its "red line" issues in the negotiations.
Verhofstadt also stated that it would be unwise to extend Article 50 beyond the upcoming EU parliamentary elections.
His comments came just one day after the British Parliament decisively struck down May's draft Brexit deal on Tuesday by 432 votes to 202 - a record margin of 230.
No sooner had the votes been cast than opposition and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a no confidence motion against May's Tory government in the House of Commons. If defeated, May would have just 14 days in office, after which a second confidence vote would take place which could, in turn, trigger a general election.
See:
Brexit: A Political Farce Based on a Public LieAnd also check out SOTT radio's:
Comment: RT reports that it seems no one in the EU really wants a no-deal Brexit: The no confidence vote went ahead and PM May won by a very slim margin.
More from RT on the EU negotiator's position: See: Brexit: A Political Farce Based on a Public Lie
And also check out SOTT radio's: