The EU yesterday was to discuss the length of another delay to Brexit after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for an election to break the paralysis that has gripped British politics for more than three years.
Just a week before Britain was due to exit the EU, Johnson said that he would not meet his “do or die” deadline to leave the EU on Friday next week and sought an election on Dec. 12 to end what he called the “nightmare” of the UK’s exit from the EU.
EU envoys to Brussels were to discuss the length of another delay to Brexit at a meeting.
An official from the bloc said that the choice was between three months and a “two-tier” lag, but warned that a decision might not come just yet.
According to a draft decision by the 27 EU countries staying on together after Brexit, the delay would be granted by the bloc “with the view to allowing for the finalization of the ratification” of the divorce agreement sealed with Johnson last week.
While the draft text, which was to be debated in Brussels, for now leaves the new Brexit date blank, it said that the split could take place earlier if ratification is completed earlier — an idea known as “flextension,” an amalgamation of the words “flexible” and “extension.”
“Consequently, the withdrawal should take place on the first day of the month following the completion of the ratification procedure, or on (blank), whichever is earliest,” it read.
“It’s basically between a three-month flextension or a two-tier one,” the EU official said.
Under the first idea, Britain would leave on Jan. 31, three months after the current departure date. The second one would include a second specific date when Britain could leave.
Johnson won the leadership of the ruling Conservative party to become prime minister in a minority government by staking his career on getting Brexit done by next week, but after parliament rejected his proposed legislative timetable on Tuesday, he will fail to do that.
Brexit was initially supposed to have taken place on March 29, but then-British prime minister Theresa May was forced to delay twice — first to April 12 and then to Oct. 31 — as parliament defeated her proposals by margins of between 58 and 230 votes.
As Brussels mulls another delay, it must take into account the continued battle in London over how, when and whether to leave the bloc.
The EU official said: “It’s unclear if a decision can be taken tomorrow [yesterday] ... some might want to see the result of the early election motion.”
Johnson said in a letter to opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn he would give parliament more time to approve his Brexit deal by Nov. 6, but lawmakers must on Monday back a December election, Johnson’s third attempt to try to force a snap vote.
“Prolonging this paralysis into 2020 would have dangerous consequences,” he said. “If I win a majority in this election, we will then ratify the great new deal that I have negotiated, get Brexit done in January and the country will move on.”
Corbyn said he would wait to see what the EU decides on a Brexit delay before deciding which way to vote on Monday, repeating that he could only back an election when the risk of Johnson taking Britain out of the EU without a deal to smooth the transition was off the table.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including