No short term extension after 12 April: Juncker

April 12 would be the final date for the United Kingdom to approve the Brexit withdrawal agreement, said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. He said EU would be ready for talks on the future relationship between the two sides as soon as the divorce deal was signed.

Brussels:European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday that April 12 would be the final date for the United Kingdom to approve the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Juncker spoke at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels and said the EU would be ready for talks on the future relationship between the two sides as soon as the divorce deal was signed.

But Juncker also admitted a so-called no-deal Brexit, where the UK leaves without an agreement, had become "more likely."

Guy Verhofstadt, the EP's Brexit chief, said a long extension which would leave the UK with "one foot in, and one foot out" of the union would be "tragedy".