Eurogroup chief sees room for more talks to avoid hard Brexit

LISBON (Reuters) – The head of euro zone finance ministers, Mario Centeno, said on Tuesday Europe and Britain could talk further and adjust their positions to avoid a no-deal Brexit in case Britain’s parliament rejects the deal agreed between London and Brussels.

“We will see the result (of the vote) today and we can adjust our trajectory,” he told SIC television channel in Strasbourg.

“We need to take informed decisions with total calm and avoid a no-deal exit. Practically anything is better than a no-deal exit,” he added. “One can always open all files, (but) there needs to be an understanding of what this means,” he said.

Asked whether that meant opening the door to a potential renegotiation of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, Centeno said he made no such suggestion and there would still be limitations.

“In abstract, everything can be reopened. No one wants a hard Brexit but this is the agreement possible given the UK’s red lines,” he said.