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Britain likely to delay Brexit, says former EU chief Barroso

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LONDON: Britain is likely to delay Brexit and not leave the European Union in March, former EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday, adding the bloc would likely accept a request to extension to sort out the details of departure.


“I think the most likely scenario is not to do that in March of this year. We need more... preparations,” Barroso, who now serves as a non-executive chairman at Goldman Sachs, told Sky News when asked when if he thought Brexit would happen as currently scheduled on March 29.


“Even if there was a positive deal now, from a practical point of view, it’s obvious that everything is not ready. So I think the right thing to do is to have some extension, and I believe that if the UK demands an extension of Article 50, European Union countries will naturally accept it.”


Meanwhile, Ireland’s deputy prime minister on Tuesday called on people not to stockpile medicine before Britain quits the European Union, saying the country had at least eight weeks of supply and was moving to source medicines from other EU countries.


Despite its large pharmaceutical industry, Ireland relies on Britain for many medicines. Some of them may not be approved for use in the EU if Britain leaves on March 29 without a deal, Simon Coveney told RTE radio.


Ireland has eight to 12 weeks’ supply of virtually all medicines in Ireland, Coveney said.


“There aren’t any medicines that are on any kind of risk list in terms of not being supplied after the end of March, but we will continue to monitor that very closely to make sure there is no delay in supply,” he said.


“Pharmacists and people in general should not be stockpiling medicines because actually stockpiling in itself sometimes causes problems with supply,” he added.


Britain has told its residents the same thing. Stockpiling “risks shortages ... if everyone does what they are supposed to, we are confident the supply of medicines will continue uninterrupted,” said Stephen Hammond, the health minister responsible for Brexit.


Coveney was speaking before a meeting of the Irish cabinet to approve legislation preparing for the possibility Britain will be forced to leave the EU with no agreement on the terms of its departure, even though the Irish government has said repeatedly that it does not expect this outcome.


“While we have a huge amount of contingency planning in place ... I wouldn’t like to give the impression that we could easily manage a no-deal Brexit,” Coveney said. “It would put huge strain on the Irish economy.”


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The president of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker will host British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday for talks on the Brexit crisis.


Juncker’s spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters that the pair would meet at the European Union’s headquarters.


The news on Tuesday came a day after Britain’s Minister for Brexit talks Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox met EU negotiator Michel Barnier. — AFP


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