EU Council President: Tusk calls in Brexit summit for Thursday

Negotiations are out of the question, but the EU is ready to talk "about how to facilitate British ratification": Council President Donald Tusk convened a Brexit summit on Thursday with the 27 remaining Member States.

The EU is responding to British Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement that she will not vote in the House of Commons on Tuesday on the agreement negotiated with Brussels.

I have decided to call #EUCO on # Brexit (item 50) on Thursday. We want to renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate UK ratification. As time is running out, we want to discuss our preparedness for a no-deal scenario.

"We will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop," Tusk reiterated on Twitter. "But we are ready to discuss how ratification can be accomplished in the UK."

With time running out before the UK exit scheduled for March 29, Tusk will continue to discuss preparations for Brexit without a contract. Backstop is the guarantee that the border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland will remain open.

Tusk's spokesman added that they were in contact with the British side and discussed the way forward. Tusk also advises EU leaders on preparations for Thursday. An EU summit is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, to which May also comes. The meeting of 27 without Great Britain is now added.