EU's Barnier issues warning over British Brexit vote

EU negotiator Michel Barnier said on Thursday that British lawmakers will have their country's future in their hands when they vote next week on the Brexit deal struck with Brussels.

British MPs look set in the December 11 vote to reject the accord struck by Prime Minister Theresa May, but Barnier issued a blunt rebuff to Brexit supporters pressing to renegotiate, saying the deal on the table was "the only and best agreement possible".

May faces a daunting task to get parliament to approve her deal, which has been roundly rejected by scores of her own MPs and it is far from clear how she will chart a path ahead, with her own job under threat.

Barnier, who led two years of talks on the divorce for the EU side, told a committee of regional representatives in Brussels that approval of the withdrawal agreement by the British and European parliaments was "the basis for everything".

"If there is no treaty, there is no transition period, nor is there the basis of trust with the British that we need to build the future relationship," Barnier said.

"Now is the moment for everyone to take their responsibilities. The British lawmakers will vote on this text and on the future relation in the next few days. It is a vote on which the future of their country depends."