European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday that British voters and Parliament, not Brussels, will be the ones to decide whether or not Brexit goes ahead.
Juncker was speaking to reporters on his way to a meeting of the leaders of 27 European Union member states. They are expected to give the green light later Friday to formally proceed to the next phase of Brexit negotiations.
When asked whether Brexit will actually happen, Juncker replied: “That depends on the British Parliament and the British people. It’s not up to us to decide what the British have to do.”
The next round of negotiations will focus on future trade and security relations.
The UK public voted in a referendum last year to leave the 28-nation bloc.
Round of applause for May
On Thursday evening, EU leaders gave UK Prime Minister Theresa May an unexpected round of applause after she spoke with her counterparts at a dinner in the EU capital.
“Some of us thought — including me — that she did make big efforts and this has to be recognized,” Juncker said.
On Wednesday evening, lawmakers backed an amendment to the Brexit bill that means the UK Parliament must be given a vote on the final deal with the EU before withdrawal begins.
It was a narrow defeat for May — 309 to 305 votes — and the first time she had lost a vote in the House of Commons since she became Prime Minister.
The vote came less than a week after the UK and EU agreed on the first phase of talks which included the UK’s financial obligations to the bloc, treatment of EU citizens living in the UK and avoiding a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The UK is not invited to attend Friday’s meeting of EU leaders.