London/Brussels, April 5
British Prime Minister Theresa May wrote to Brussels on Friday asking for a delay of Brexit until up to June 30, while saying she aims to get Britain out of the European Union earlier to avoid it participating in European elections. But Donald Tusk, who chairs EU summits, has proposed a longer Brexit postponement of one year for Britain's feuding politicians to agree and ratify a plan, EU officials said.
Any such extension would still require unanimous approval of the other 27 EU countries and some, notably France, suggested they wanted a better justification from London for its request. Britain is now due to leave the EU in a week, but May has been forced to seek more time after Britain’s Parliament repeatedly rejected her pact.
Her Conservative Party is deeply divided, as is the main opposition Labour Party, leading to a bewildering marathon of inconclusive votes in Parliament that stretched Britain's centuries-old unwritten constitution to its limits. Scenarios running the gamut from abandoning the EU abruptly with no deal to cancelling Brexit altogether have all gone down to defeat.
Obscure parliamentary procedures have been resurrected, providing daily drama from the House of Commons but making the future of Britain's biggest change in generations no clearer.
After finally recognising that her minority the Conservative government could not push through a Brexit deal on its own, May started talks this week with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in the hope of coming up with a cross-party solution. But that means accepting the need for more time, including the possibility of Britain holding European Parliament elections on May 23, which May has long hoped to avoid at all cost.
“The UK proposes that this period should end on 30 June,” May said in the letter. “The government will want to agree a timetable for ratification that allows the UKto withdraw from the European Union before 23 May, and therefore cancel the European Parliament elections, but will continue to make responsible preparations to hold the elections should this not prove possible.”
But there seems to be little appetite in Brussels for an extension that could create another cliff edge in three months. May asked two weeks ago for an extension to June 30, and the EU turned her down. Tusk, who will convene EU leaders on Wednesday, is planning to propose an extension of a year, EU officials said.
As in May’s proposal, the extension could be halted early if Britain ratifies the withdrawal agreement. ‘The only reasonable way out would be a long but flexible extension. I would call it a ‘flextension’,” an EU official quoted Tusk as saying. “How would it work in practice? We could give the UK a year-long extension, automatically terminated once the withdrawal pact has been accepted and ratified by the House of Commons.” “And even if this were not possible,” the official continued, ‘then the UK would still have enough time to rethink its Brexit strategy.” — Reuters
Tusk offers ‘flextension’
The only reasonable way out would be a long but flexible extension. I would call it a ‘flextension’… We could give the UK a year-long extension, automatically terminated once the withdrawal pact has been accepted and ratified by the House of Commons. — EU official
Make-or-break week for The UK
April 8: The House of Lords is expected to approve a law which will force May to consult Parliament on the length of delay she is seeking from the European Union
April 9: If the law is formally approved on Monday, it will require the British PM to present her plan for a Brexit delay to Parliament
April 10: May is due to travel to Brussels for a special EU summit, where her request for a delay to June 30 will be discussed among EU leaders
April 11: The British PM may make a statement to Parliament, updating the lawmakers on how the EU meeting went
April 12: Unless a further delay is agreed, Britain is due to leave the EU at 2200 GMT
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2HZzq8A
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