Brussels - The European Union will discuss
on Friday the length of another delay to Brexit after Prime
Minister Boris Johnson demanded an election to break the
paralysis that has gripped British politics for over three
years.
Just a week before Britain was due to exit the EU, Johnson
admitted that he would not meet his "do or die" deadline to
leave the EU on Oct. 31 and demanded at Dec. 12 election to end
what he cast as the "nightmare" of the Brexit crisis.
European Union envoys to Brussels will discuss the length of
another delay to Brexit at a meeting on Friday. An official from
the bloc said the choice was between 3 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, which was seen by Reuters on Thursday
evening, the delay would be granted by the bloc "with the view
to allowing for the finalisation of the ratification" of the
divorce agreement sealed with Johnson last week.
While the draft text, which will be debated in Brussels on
Friday, for now leaves the new Brexit date blank, it said 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.
The EU official explained: "It's basically between a
three-month flextension or a two-tier one."
Under the first idea, Britain would leave on Jan.31, 2020,
three months after the current departure date due on Oct.31. 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 Oct. 31, 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 Johnson's predecessor Theresa May was forced to delay
twice - first to April 12 and then to Oct. 31 - as parliament
defeated her Brexit deal by margins of between 58 and 230 votes
earlier this year.
BREXIT PARALYSIS
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 ... 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.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously managed to
sway the bloc's extension decisions significantly from the plans
prepared in advance of the bloc's meetings and the line Paris
would take is another risk factor on Friday.
A second EU official said: "We'll see tomorrow. Might also
be an argument for waiting one day more to see what happens in
London."
A third one added: "If there are elections in the UK, it is
clear to everybody that we need to give Britain a long
extension."
The draft text also said: "The further extension cannot be
allowed to undermine the regular functioning of the (European)
Union and its institutions," a clause the bloc hopes would
shield its vital interests from the protracted Brexit drama.
More than three years since Britons voted to leave, the fate
of Brexit remains uncertain, ranging from a disorderly split at
the end of this month, to another delay and a national election
in bitterly divided Britain.