Spanish, Austrian foreign ministers discuss Brexit

MADRID

Spanish and Austrian foreign ministers on Thursday met in Madrid to discuss developments on Brexit.

Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said that the recent actions at the British Parliament made the Brexit process more "complicated" and "unpredictable".

"Perhaps the ropes were unintentionally stretched, because the situation has changed completely in the last 48 hours," Schallenberg said.

Brexit had become a growing phenomenon, and no one knows what will happen next in the process of Britain's separation from Europe, he said.

The Spanish foreign minister said that the best way to decide is through elections and ask the people of the U.K. what they wanted.

"An event that will affect the security, the economy and the work of many cannot be underestimated and everyone must fulfill their responsibility," the Austrian foreign minister said.

The British parliament needed time for the Brexit process, and the new agreement meant time but Spain's concern over the Gibraltar problem was a more particular problem in this process, Borrell noted.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson frequently reiterates his determination to separate Britain from the EU, with or without an agreement on Oct. 31.

The Brexit agreement made by former Prime Minister Theresa May with the EU was rejected thrice in the parliament.

After May's decision to resign, Johnson was elected prime minister with the votes of some 150,000 members of the Conservative Party.

The British Parliament blocked a no-deal Brexit on March 29 by enacting the law, and the government postponed Brexit to Oct. 31 with the EU's approval.

In the 2016 referendum, Britain had decided to leave the EU by 52% to 48%.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit