The European Union on Monday agreed a 3-month flexible delay to Britain's d...
BRUSSELS/LONDON - The European Union on Monday agreed a 3-month flexible delay to Britain’s departure from the bloc as Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushes for an election after opponents forced him to request an extension he had vowed never to ask for.
Johnson, who became prime minister in July by pledging, “do or die”, to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31, was compelled to request a postponement after he was defeated in parliament over the sequencing of the ratification of his divorce deal. EU member states will need Britain to formally reply to its offer of a 3-month delay before launching a “written procedure” whereby governments will have 24 hours to accept or reject.
Two senior EU diplomats confirmed that the written procedure period agreed was 24 hours, effective from the time London accepts the offer of a Brexit delay from Oct. 31 to Jan. 31. But he needs the support of two-thirds of the 650 lawmakers for a new election. A House of Commons vote was due later on Monday.The EU, forged from the ruins of World War Two as a way to prevent another devastating conflict in Europe, is fatigued by Britain’s Brexit crisis but keen not to be held responsible for an economically tumultuous “no-deal” Brexit.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seen outside Downing Street in London, Britain October 24, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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