BERLIN, July 23, 2018 (News Wires) - Britain's top diplomat is warning that the country could crash out of the European Union next year without an agreement on future relations with Brussels, causing economic and political damage on both sides. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he told his German counterpart in Berlin on Monday that "when it comes to Brexit there is now a very real risk of a Brexit 'no deal' by accident." Hunt said that in Britain's view it appeared that the European Commission, which is leading negotiations, was waiting for London "to blink." He insisted "that's not going to happen." "When it comes to Brexit there is a very real risk of a Brexit no-deal by accident," he told a news conference alongside his German counterpart Heiko Maas. Hunt's pro-Brexit predecessor Boris Johnson resigned last week. With a little more than eight months to go before Britain is due to leave, negotiators remain deeply divided over what form Brexit should take. "I think that many people in the EU are thinking that they just have to wait long enough and Britain will blink," Hunt said. "My real concern is that (a chaotic Brexit) would change British public attitudes to Europe for a generation and would lead to a fissure in relations that would be highly damaging." Maas said Germany did not want a disorderly Brexit. "We want an agreement. And we also know that for that we have to make steps toward each other," he said, adding that the EU's collective interests had to be defended. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said his country "doesn't want a disorderly Brexit. We want a deal." The EU parliament and national parliaments of EU nations need to ratify a deal before Britain leaves in March.
