Brussels mulls two-year Brexit delay if UK seeks to extension - report
Brussels could insist on delaying Brexit by two years if London seeks to extends Article 50, according to reports.
Earlier this week, the prime minister Theresa May conceded for the first time that Britain’s departure from the European Union could be delayed. She told the House of Commons that should either her Withdrawal Agreement or a no-deal exit be voted down by MPs next month, she would allow a vote on extending Article 50. The UK is current slated to quit the UK on 29 March.
She insisted it would, however, only be a “short, limited extension”, to June at the latest.
But it now appears that Brussels is not happy with the time frame. Instead, it is considering insisting on an extension to December 2020, according to the Evening Standard, firming-up speculation in recent months about such a two-year extension.
It is thought that the EU is keen to avoid a series of short delays while the UK continues to battle over Brexit.
Any extension to Article 50 would need to be agreed by all 27 other member states. The Standard quoted a minister involved in the Brexit negotiations, saying: “The EU does not want a short delay. It would prefer 21 months, which would mean no future relationship talks until the start of 2021.”
Brussels has long insisted that trade negotiations and talks about the UK’s future relationship with the EU can only happen once the country has quit the bloc.
Under the current Withdrawal Agreement, which has been agreed between May and Brussels but has failed to win the backing of Parliament, the UK would leave Europe at the end of March. But there would then be a 21-month transition period, during which time the UK will remain subject to EU laws.