European leaders yesterday agreed with Britain to delay Brexit by up to six months, saving the continent from what could have been a chaotic no-deal departure at the end of this week.
The deal struck during late-night talks in Brussels means that if London remains in the EU after May 22, British voters would have to take part in European elections — or crash out on June 1.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said that she would keep working to get her withdrawal agreement approved by parliament to ensure an orderly split, adding that her goal was to leave “as soon as possible.”
Photo: Bloomberg
The other 27 EU leaders met without May over dinner to hash out what European Council President Donald Tusk called “a flexible extension until 31 October.”
May later returned to agree to the new deadline, which British newspapers were quick to note falls on Halloween.
She was yesterday to address the British House of Commons before her officials meet for further talks with the main opposition Labour Party to try to find a way through the political deadlock.
Without a postponement, Britain would have ended its 46-year membership of the EU at midnight today with no deal, risking economic chaos on both sides of the English Channel.
Tusk had proposed a year-long delay, but said that the six-month extension is “still enough to find the best possible solution. Please do not waste this time.”
May’s government now has time to ratify the deal agreed with EU leaders in November last year, to rethink its approach or to stop the entire Brexit process, he said.
The summit conclusions say that Britain must hold European elections scheduled for May 23 or if “the United Kingdom fails to live up to this obligation, the withdrawal will take place on 1 June 2019.”
Britain has already started planning for the polls, but May told reporters that she hoped she could still get her deal agreed on by May 22 and avoid taking part.
“The EU have agreed that the extension can be terminated when the withdrawal agreement has been ratified,” she said.
The summit was more tense than expected, with French President Emmanuel Macron the strongest voice opposing a long extension as the talks stretched from early evening on Wednesday to early yesterday morning.
With backing from Belgium, Austria and some smaller EU states, he pushed to limit the delay to only a few weeks and demanded guarantees that London would not interfere in EU business during that time.
However, most leaders backed the longer plan, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the French had to settle for a review of the delay at a preplanned EU summit scheduled for June 20.
Macron said afterward that this was the “best possible compromise,” which “made it possible to preserve the unity” of the other 27 EU states.
“The Oct. 31 deadline protects us,” because it is “a key date, before the installation of a new European Commission,” he said.
May left the group after giving what one official said was a “solid” presentation of her case, but was kept up to date by Tusk, who met her before, during and after the discussions.
The British pound briefly edged up against the US dollar and euro after the extension was announced, but gains were limited and sterling later slid back.
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