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| Barnier |
Speaking after a two-hour meeting of ambassadors in Brussels, the EU’s chief negotiator said an “excellent” discussion had not concluded with any clear way forward. “No decision,” he said. It may not take until Monday for the EU to make public its offer on an extension after parliament votes on whether there will be a general election.
A majority of member states want to accept the terms of an extension reluctantly requested by Johnson in a letter sent last Saturday under which Brexit could be delayed up until 31 January. The UK would leave earlier if the withdrawal agreement was ratified in Westminster and by the European parliament.
EU ambassadors have agreed in principle to a Brexit extension but have postponed a decision on exactly how long it will last for. Diplomats from the 27 member states agreed that the final decision could be made by written procedure, meaning there will be no emergency summit to discuss the matter.
After a meeting between the diplomats and EU negotiator Michel Barnier this morning, European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said “work will continue in coming days”.
Two diplomats told AFP that the ambassadors set an informal deadline of late Monday or early Tuesday to decide — just two days before the current Brexit deadline of 31 October.
The EU is keen not to be seen to be influencing decisions taken in the House of Commons, which is set to vote on Monday on whether an election should be held in December.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk has recommended EU leaders approve an extension until 31 January 2020.
While no decision has been made on the length of an extension, it’s believed that EU leaders are looking at a so-called ‘flextension’ to the end of January 2020, allowing the UK leave the bloc when there is agreement in parliament.
Those terms were due to be signed off on Friday but ran into trouble. “There is one country standing in the way – France,” said a diplomat. “Everyone is very frustrated. They were told that a short extension ran the risk of an accidental no-deal Brexit.”
“It is the French, always the French,” said a second senior diplomat.
Sources suggested that France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, was keen to appear helpful to Downing Street and keep the pressure on MPs. On Thursday, France’s EU minister, Amélie de Montchalin, had told RTL radio that clarity over the next steps in London was needed for decisions to be made in “the next hours and days”.
As a result, there remains the possibility that the EU will offer a shorter delay to mid or late November merely to allow time for ratification, although sources suggested that this remained unlikely. “We agreed we all want to avoid a no deal – and a short extension will just raise the possibility,” said an EU source.
By meddling with the terms of the extension request laid out in the Benn act, the prime minister is also placed under a different set of obligations.
If the three months to 31 January is offered, he must agree to it. A different formulation would require parliament to pass a motion endorsing the extension request. Johnson would then need to agree the terms with the EU by 30 October or within 48 hours, depending on which is earlier.
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