The EU yesterday agreed to delay Brexit until Jan. 31 — just three days before the UK was due to become the first country ever to leave the 28-nation bloc.
After a very short meeting of diplomats in Brussels, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Twitter that the EU’s 27 other countries would accept “the UK’s request for a Brexit flextension until 31 January, 2020.”
Tusk said the decision was expected to be formalized through a written procedure, meaning a special summit of EU leaders would likely not be necessary to approve the move.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Two diplomats said the term “flextension” means that the UK would be able to leave even earlier than Jan. 31 if the Brexit divorce deal that the EU and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed upon this month is ratified before Jan. 31.
If that ha0ppens, the UK would leave the EU on the first day of the month following the ratification.
Speaking anonymously because details of the decision have yet to be made public, one diplomat added that the Brexit withdrawal agreement cannot be renegotiated during the extension period.
Johnson did not immediately comment on Tusk’s announcement, but under a law passed by British parliamentarians that forced him to request the extension that he did not want, Johnson must notify Tusk that Britain agrees to the proposed delay.
Johnson had previously said he would “rather be dead in a ditch” than agree to extend Brexit beyond Oct. 31.
He has been hammering his “Get Brexit Done” mantra since he replaced Theresa May this summer, and his apparent willingness to consider leaving the bloc without a Brexit deal has spooked many British lawmakers.
Economists say a no-deal Brexit would hurt the economies of both Britain and the EU.
Tusk’s announcement came after the EU diplomats met to sign off on the Brexit new delay.
Leaving the envoys, European Commission Chief Negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier told reporters: “It was a very short and efficient and constructive meeting and I am happy the decision has been taken.”
It is the second time the Brexit deadline has been changed since British voters in 2016 referendum decided to leave the bloc.
In London later yesterday, British politicians were to vote on whether to hold an early election to try to break the country’s deadlock over Brexit. Johnson wants a Dec. 12 election, but looks unlikely to get the required support from two-thirds of lawmakers.
In a tactical chess move, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party plan to push for a Dec. 9 election if Johnson’s proposal fails.
The Conservative Party desperately wants a new election to bolster its numbers in parliament, but they face resistance from the main opposition Labour Party, which fears the country would be unwittingly tricked into crashing out of the EU without a deal.
The Dec. 9 proposal is an effort to force Johnson to delay debate in parliament on his Brexit withdrawal bill until after any election, depriving him of a possible victory on his trademark issue.
It makes Johnson’s government choose between holding an election to improve its position in parliament and its goal of securing Brexit before that election takes place.
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