Germany says up to Britain to propose Brexit solution to EU

Germany on Friday said the ball remained in Britain's court to propose a viable exit plan from the European Union as the Brexit deadline looms.

Ahead of a crunch summit next week, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said Berlin welcomed the British parliament's vote on Wednesday against a no-deal Brexit.

"Nevertheless it is clear that the next steps, the next proposal on how to move forward must come from Britain," he told reporters. Seibert stressed it was in "no one's interest" for London to crash out of the EU on March 29 without an agreement on the future relationship with the bloc. He noted that the EU summit on March 21-22 in Brussels "will of course deal with the (Brexit) issue intensively".

But after British MPs on Thursday voted to ask the EU to delay Brexit, Seibert said any such request would have to be formally submitted to the other 27 member states, debated and decided on.

"I do not want to pre-empt those talks," he said.

EU leaders have repeatedly said they would consider any request from London.

But they also want to know how long the extension would be -- and what it would be used for -- before they gather in Brussels.