PARIS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Kingdom (UK) could still leave the European Union (EU) in an "orderly" fashion within 10 days despite lawmakers' refusal to back a last-ditch Brexit deal this past Saturday, French Junior Economic Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Monday.
Speaking to Sud Radio, she said the terms of the UK's divorce from the European bloc remained "uncertain ... but it is possible that it will happen in ten days."
"We have taken steps in recent days. An agreement was postponed and not rejected on Saturday. Parliament must vote," she said.
"It asked to have a few extra days to study the agreement. But we cannot exclude that there is a Brexit within ten days," she said.
The UK House of Commons on Saturday voted for a key amendment forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek another Brexit extension from the EU.
The UK government plans to put the deal to a vote in Parliament later on Monday, while it sticks to its deadline of ending the country's membership of the EU on Oct. 31.
