Britain awaits EU verdict on Brexit delay as deadline looms

The EU doesn't want to be blamed for a no-deal Brexit, so it will likely eventually agree to an extension, said Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska of the Centre for European Reform policy group.

"I think the EU should focus on having as constructive a partnership with the U.K. as possible. Now those discussions will not always be easy, but it seems to me that within the EU's mindset, the U.K. has actually already left," she said.

The Withdrawal Agreement was meant to be the easy bit. Negotiating the future relationship — likely to be a free trade agreement — will be much tougher, said Gostyńska-Jakubowska.

"We will face ratifications also in national parliaments. And this is something that we can't really predict how that would be used in the domestic politics, because obviously there are different dynamics in all 27 member states."