German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the German Chancellery in Berlin, capital of Germany, on April 9, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May visited Berlin on Tuesday to discuss a way out of the deadlock of the Brexit process with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Photo courtesy of Twitter
BRUSSELS, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — European leaders were expected to postpone Brexit once again on Wednesday, when Prime Minister Theresa May attends another last-ditch summit still without a ratified divorce deal.
May wants to push back Brexit from April 12 to June 30 to arrange Britain’s orderly departure but Brussels fears that will not be long enough, and EU leaders are expected to offer a delay of up to a year.
“There are times when you need to give time time,” EU Council president Donald Tusk tweeted, as he issued invitations to the latest emergency European summit in Brussels.
Summit host Tusk said the evidence of recent months gives EU leaders “little reason to believe” that British lawmakers will ratify the Brexit withdrawal treaty before May’s preferred June 30 departure.
“In reality, granting such an extension would increase the risk of a rolling series of short extensions and emergency summits, creating new cliff-edge dates,” he said, reflecting concern in EU capitals.
“One possibility would be a flexible extension, which would last only as long as necessary and no longer than one year,” he said.
Tusk’s suggestion does not bind the other EU leaders when they meet on Wednesday, but his ideas chimed with what diplomats were suggesting as May toured key EU capitals on Tuesday.
Some members, led by France, are sceptical of allowing too long a delay and a potentially disruptive one.
But others — notably Germany and Britain’s close neighbour Ireland — worry that if May runs out of time then a dramatic “no deal” Brexit would do more harm in the long run.
EU members want to ensure that a semi-detached Britain does not seek leverage in Brexit talks by intervening in choosing the next head of the European Commission or the next multi-year EU budget.
The International Monetary Fund said that Britain risks a serious shock if it leaves the EU without an agreement.
And US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned American lawmakers: “I think at this point we need to be prepared for a hard Brexit as a very realistic outcome.” — NNN-AGENCIES
