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EU's Oettinger Sees Chance British Parliament Votes for Brexit Deal in January


EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger addresses the media at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 29, 2014.
EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger addresses the media at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 29, 2014.

European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said on Thursday there is still a chance that Britain's parliament will vote in favor of the Brexit agreement in January and that there was no public support for a disorderly Brexit or another referendum.

British Prime Minister Theresa May attends a news conference after a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 14, 2018.
British Prime Minister Theresa May attends a news conference after a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 14, 2018.

Prime Minister Theresa May has struck a withdrawal agreement with Brussels but she was forced to postpone a parliamentary vote on it earlier this month after admitting she would lose by a large margin.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29.

"It is not entirely unlikely that the British parliament will vote for the divorce agreement in January," Oettinger told Funke Media Group in an interview. "There is certainly no majority for a disorderly Brexit or for a new referendum."

Oettinger said that the likelihood of Britain remaining in the EU had increased slightly over the past few months.

"Nevertheless, I assume that it will come to an exit at the end of March," said Oettinger, the EU's budget commissioner.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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