EU preparing Brexit contingency plan if UK sinks deal

The European Union is continuing with contingency planning in order to manage Britain's withdrawal from the bloc in the event the British parliament next week rejects a Brexit deal, a senior EU official said on Wednesday.

"We need to see what's the outcome of discussion in UK parliament," European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters. "We are preparing for the deal. We have agreed on the deal with the government. We are making sure that it can be implemented -- and in parallel we have done some contingency planning also."

Prime Minister Theresa May agreed a withdrawal deal with EU leaders last week but faces defeat in parliament on Tuesday. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald and Daphne Psaledakis; editing by Francesco Guarascio)