Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, European Council President Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker held a press conference in Salzburg as the EU heads of state and heads of government reached its end on Thursday, September 20.
During the meeting, Tusk stated that EU will not compromise on single market. Moreover, he expressed scepticism with regards to Chequers plan.
"While there are positive elements in the Chequers proposal, the suggested framework for economic cooperation will not work," Tusk said.
In her turn, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that her Brexit proposal was "the only serious proposal on the table" and there was no counter proposal at the moment that would deliver on what the state needs to do.
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May also stressed that she was negotiating hard for the UK people and that the state was preparing for no deal Brexit. She emphasized that Brexit will happen and the UK will leave in 2019.
Speaking about Brexit during the meeting in Austria, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said that the EU must avoid a hectic process of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the bloc.
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The Lithuanian head noted that it was important to agree on all most contentious issues in the divorce talks in order to "ensure smooth negotiations and mutually beneficial outcome."
In addition, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz expressed hope that a Brexit deal will see a more realistic scenario than the absence of a deal.
"I think there is no point discussing the no deal scenario at the moment. I hope reaching a deal is a more realistic scenario," Kurz said.
The Austrian chancellor stressed that the negotiators should not aim for a no deal Brexit, and a hard Brexit should be avoided. At the same time, Kurz added that the European Union was ready for all scenarios.
On September 10, EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that London and Brussels could finalize their agreements on Brexit in late October or the beginning of November. The UK and the EU have to address three important issues, which will enable the smooth Brexit process with respect for the two parties' interests, including to finalize a treaty on the UK departure from the European Union, resolve the issue of the Irish border and decide on the format of future relations.