Donald Tusk issues stark Brexit warning to UK as deadline is extended: Do not waste this time

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Donald Tusk has told the UK not to “waste this time” in a stark warning after a fresh Halloween deadline was set for Brexit.

The European Council president said the new timeline was shorter than he expected but that there was enough time to find a solution.

Mr Tusk announced the October 31 deadline in the early hours of Thursday following hours of crunch talks at a summit in Brussels.

Speaking at a press conference, he said: “This extension is as flexible as I expected, and a little bit shorter than I expected, but it's still enough to find the best possible solution.

"Please do not waste this time."

Brexit delay: European Council President Donald Tusk holds a news conference after the EU leaders summit
REUTERS

The new timeline was a compromise solution thrashed out in discussions in after French President Emmanuel Macron held out against a longer delay.

Most of the leaders at the Brussels summit are understood to have favoured the longer extension of as much as a year. This was Mr Tusk’s recommendation.

Theresa May speaks during a media conference at the conclusion of the EU summit in Brussels
AP

But Mr Macron dug his heels in for a shorter delay, warning that a no-deal Brexit would be less damaging than a disruptive UK remaining for month after month.

Addressing the press shortly before 2am, Mrs May said that she still wanted the UK to leave the EU "as soon as possible".

If a withdrawal deal could be ratified within the first three weeks of May, the UK could still avoid participation in that month's European Parliament elections and leave the EU in June, she said.

Acknowledging "huge frustration" among voters that the UK has not yet left the EU, she said: "The choices we now face are stark and the timetable is clear.

"So we must now press on at pace with our efforts to reach a consensus on a deal that is in the national interest."

Delay agreed: European Council President Donald Tusk, right, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
AP

Talks between the Government and Labour to find a compromise way forward will continue at official level on Thursday.

"I do not pretend the next few weeks will be easy or that there is a simple way to break the deadlock in Parliament," said Mrs May.

"But we have a duty as politicians to find a way to fulfil the democratic decision of the referendum, deliver Brexit and move our country forward. Nothing is more pressing or more vital."

The second extension to the Brexit process - initially intended to conclude on March 29 - stopped the clock on a no-deal withdrawal on Friday with less than 48 hours to go.

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