PRO-BREXIT politicians in Britain are trying to "bully" the European Union and are "hooked on brinkmanship", Ireland’s EU Commissioner Phil Hogan has said.
Mr Hogan said in Brussels on Tuesday that "we are now so close to the cliff edge of a hard Brexit that we can see the drop right in front of our feet", the Irish Times reported.
Speaking at the launch of RTÉ journalist Tony Connelly’s new book on Brexit, Mr Hogan warned that the Brexiteers' "only approach is the tough-guy approach".
He added: "They cannot get it into their head that this is not how the European Union works."
Mr Hogan said British politicians should be concentrating on negotiations with Brussels but remain split over how to approach the forthcoming exit from the EU.
"At a time when all the talent and energy of British politicians should be focused on delivering a good result in the London-Brussels negotiation, the unfortunate reality is that the London-London negotiation is still raging - and if anything, intensifying,” he said.
A two-day European Union summit is to begin in Brussels today, with British Prime Minister Theresa May due to address the European Council.
Tomorrow, the 27 EU nations are expected to endorse chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier's assessment that insufficient progress has been made on the Irish border, citizens' rights and the financial settlement to allow the next phase of discussions with the UK to begin.
Meanwhile, a new report has concluded that it is "legally possible" for the north to get special status within the EU.
The report by Doughty Street Chambers in London, commissioned by the European United Left/ Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament, concludes that Brexit is not compatible with the Good Friday Agreement "in all its parts".
It said options for the north include staying within the single market and customs union separate from Britain.
