The eight-page resolution will be put to a vote in Parliament in Strasbourg next week where it is expected to be formally adopted.
Five mainstream groups - the EPP, Socialists, Greens, Gue and RE - on Thursday agreed a resolution noting the "strong opposition in the House of Commons and beyond" to the prorogation of the UK parliament.
Speaking at a news conference in Parliament on Thursday, the assembly’s President David Sassoli said, “It is not our place to get involved in the internal debate in the UK, but the resolution adopted today firms up the EU’s Brexit position. It stresses the EU’s unity on this issue.”
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“We in Europe often have our differences but, on Brexit, we have stayed unified and this will continue. The EU’s position could not be clearer and do not forget that this Parliament will have the final say on this.”
“I still believe the Withdrawal Agreement is the best solution and we are willing to go back to this and also look again at the political declaration. But the backstop remains the single biggest obstacle.”
He said, “We still do not rule anything out and if any solution is proposed we will consider it. But any proposal must be legally credible and workable. To date, we have had nothing from the UK.”
He went on, “I have to say that recent developments and the breaking off of negotiations has brought us closer to a no deal. Currently, there is too much rigidity and if there is a no deal that will entirely be the responsibility of the UK.”
“We in Europe often have our differences but, on Brexit, we have stayed unified and this will continue. The EU’s position could not be clearer and do not forget that this Parliament will have the final say on this,” David Sassoli, European Parliament President
On the option of an extension to Article 50, he said, “We are open to this but only provided that is for an overriding reason such as an election.”
“What the resolution going to plenary does do is clarify our position and put the Parliament on the same footing as other EU institutions.”
“What is clear is that this whole process has been terribly painful,” he added.
Sassoli criticised Boris Johnson’s suspension of the UK parliament, warning that that the decision to shut down parliament for five weeks - a decision which will be put the to the Supreme Court in London next Tuesday - makes a no-deal Brexit “more likely.”
He said that parliaments were "the house of democracy" and that debate should not be shut down at such a crucial juncture.
"I'm in favour of parliaments being open permanently, particularly when they're deciding on the destiny of a great nation such as the United Kingdom. Everyone was very struck, I think, by the decision."
“I think it dated back to a time when parliaments were a bit different, but in today's Europe, parliaments are the house of democracy, they're the voice of the people – and if you can't discuss the destiny of a country in a parliament where can you do it?”
“In today's Europe, parliaments are the house of democracy, they're the voice of the people – and if you can't discuss the destiny of a country in a parliament where can you do it?” David Sassoli, European Parliament President
“That's why we were struck by the decision taken by the Prime Minister. I think it's good for parliaments to stay open, that's the way we like them.”
He went on, “Unfortunately, all the signals we are getting from the UK side tell us that there are no new initiatives which might reopen the negotiations. Obviously, I am not happy about that.”
He said once again that there was no possibility of an agreement with the UK without the Irish backstop remaining in any deal.
“Without the backstop there will be no deal.”
He said the EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has been asked to appear before the conference of presidents in Strasbourg next week “to explain the latest state of play.”
“There seems to be something new every day on Brexit so he will give us an idea of the current situation.”