European Union governments are exasperated by British dithering over quitting the bloc but have little appetite for pushing it out on schedule next week without a divorce deal, senior figures said on Tuesday.

EU ministers in Brussels to prepare a summit with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday voiced frustration after the speaker of Parliament threw up a new obstacle for her plan to get her Brexit deal ratified before the March 29 deadline.

"Our patience as the European Union is being sorely tested at the moment," Germany's Europe minister, Michael Roth, told reporters. "Dear friends in London, please deliver. The clock is ticking."