United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum
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The British Parliament wants more time to deal with the new Brexit deal - but does it get it too? Donald Tusk is at least on the side of the lower house. The EU Council President wants to recommend the EU member states to extend the Brexit deadline to prevent a disorderly exit from the UK.
Tusk referred via Twitter to the announcement of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to put the legislative process to Brexit on ice. He would propose a "written procedure", Tusk continued.
Following PM @ BorisJohnson's decision to pause the process of ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, and in order to avoid a no-deal #Brexit, I would recommend the EU27 accept the UK request for an extension. For this I want to propose a written procedure.
- Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) October 22, 2019The request would soon have to be accepted by the other 27 EU Member States, as the United Kingdom is leaving the EU on 31 October.
Germany and France are offering short extensions
The chances for a further delay seem not bad: Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) was open to a short-term concession. "It's less of a problem, I think, when it comes to postponing the date of departure by two or three weeks to give the London delegates the opportunity to rationalize the ratification of the law," Maas said in the program "Frühstart" by RTL and n-tv.
On the other hand, for a possible Brexit postponement by the end of January, the Foreign Minister put in stricter conditions: "We need to know: what is the reason, what will happen in the meantime, will there be elections in the UK?" Above all, you have to know "what the British are up to and what Johnson is up to, which is once again very unclear.
"We will see at the end of the week whether a purely technical extension of a few days is justified," said French Europe Secretary of State Amélie de Montchalin, according to news agency AFP EU withdrawal agreement with London, however, rejects France.
