The risk of a no-deal Brexit is up sharply and the EU must step up its emergency planning, the bloc’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said Wednesday.

Barnier issued his stark warning in the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg, the morning after the U.K. parliament voted overwhelmingly to reject the Withdrawal Agreement he and his team negotiated with Prime Minister Theresa May.

“We’re only 10 weeks away from the end of the month of March that is the moment chosen by the British government to become a third country,” Barnier said. “We are fearing more than ever the risk of a no deal.

“We must remain lucid and clear in our approach, which is why we are stepping up our efforts to be prepared for that possibility,” Barnier continued, adding: “We will have to speed up our efforts working with all the stakeholders and partners who will be called on to take contingency measures to face possible consequences of that outcome.”

As the European Parliament debated the outcome of the vote, other senior EU officials expressed continuing dismay at the lack of any clear path forward on the British side, and the continuing disagreement over what Britain seeks in its post-EU future.

“The ball is in the field of our British friends,” said Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People’s Party group in the Parliament and the front-runner candidate for European Commission president. “Please, please tell us finally: What do you want to achieve?”

Even as speaker after speaker implored the U.K. to clarify its goals, Barnier said that the withdrawal treaty remains the most viable solution.

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“The compromise that we reached after 18 months with the British government remains today the best possible compromise,” he said. “It is the fruit of constructive work on both sides.”

Barnier, who is known for his even-keeled demeanor, insisted that he would continue to deal amicably with the British side. But he also showed a rare flash of anger and frustration over the contradictory positions of U.K. MPs who opposed the Withdrawal Agreement and the continuing lack of any Brexit plan that could win a majority on the U.K. side.

“We note by listening to the public declarations at the House of Commons that those who voted against it did it for very diverse, sometimes opposed, even contradictory motives,” he said. “This vote is therefore objectively not the clear evidence of a positive majority, which would define an alternative project to the agreement that is on the table.”

During the Parliament debate, Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans declared that the “backstop” provision on the Northern Ireland border is non-negotiable. Timmermans also warned that Brexit would be damaging and cautioned the U.K. against trying to have its cake and eat it too.

“Let’s not create the illusion that this could be a process without harm,” said Timmermans. “Brexit will do harm, to the United Kingdom, to the European Union. It is our collective responsibility to limit that harm as much as possible.”

To the Brits, he said: “You can’t honestly say ‘I’m going to leave the European Union but I’m going to take with me everything I like, regardless of what that does to the European Union.’”

Finally Timmermans turned to an oracle of political wisdom — the Rolling Stones. “You can’t always get what you want,” he said, “but if you try sometimes you might get what you need.”

Lili Bayer contributed reporting.

This article has been updated.