EU chief drops hint Brexit could be delayed
European Council President Donald Tusk has suggested Britain could delay its withdrawal from the European Union amid increasing concerns about a hard Brexit on March 29 that could seriously harm businesses and affect jobs in the country and in the EU.
Tusk, whose body coordinates positions of EU leaders, said Monday that Britain could extend the Article 50 of EU’s Lisbon treaty, a mechanism London triggered three years ago to leave the bloc, if London wanted to ensure that Brexit would be smooth and orderly.
Turks said he had discussed the legal procedure needed to extend Britain’s membership beyond the end of March during talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Egypt, where the two are attending a summit of EU and Arab leaders.
The top EU official said a current political stalemate over Brexit in the British parliament meant that extending negotiations would be a “rational solution.”
Lawmakers in the House of Commons rejected May’s deal with the EU on January 15 and forced her to gain concessions from Brussels that could make the agreement acceptable to the chamber.
However, the EU has hardly budged on its position, insisting that a controversial mechanism to ensure there would be no border on the island of Ireland after Brexit would not change.
May, for her part, has expressed hope that the deal could win parliament’s approval in a second attempt on March 12. However, she has repeatedly indicated that Britain will under no circumstances delay the planned departure.
She said on Monday in a press conference that extending the two-year negotiation would not solve the political row in the Commons.
“An extension to article 50, a delay in this process, doesn’t deliver a decision in parliament, it doesn’t deliver a deal,” said May in Sharm el-Sheikh, adding, “It’s within our grasp to leave with a deal on 29 March and that’s where all of my energies are going to be focused.”
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