EU should be patient about Brexit talks with UK, says Irish PM

Nobody wants Britain to leave the European Union next week without a divorce agreement and EU leaders must be patient while talks continue in London, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday.

"We said that if the UK had not ratified the withdrawal agreement it should come forward with a clear plan for the way forward by next week or it would leave the European Union without a deal," Varadkar told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dublin.

"This is an outcome that none of us want to see. Matters continue to play out in London and I think we need to be patient and understanding of the predicament they're in. But of course any further extension must require and must have a credible and realistic way forward."