© Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters‘This latest example is the Russian doll of reversals, with several other reversals contained within it.’
Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that she has written to the EU to request a short extension to Article 50, insisting that she is not prepared to "delay Brexit any further than June 30."
Addressing a raucous group of British lawmakers in the House of Commons during PMQs, May confirmed that she had written to European Commission President Donald Tusk on Wednesday morning to request the short delay.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn slammed May's Brexit announcement, claiming that
"We're now in the midst of a full-scale national crisis."Corbyn accused the PM of "incompetence" and "failure" over Brexit, insisting that the prime minister "has no plan" before asking May whether she will meet him to sort out the Brexit mess - to which May could give no direct answer.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford issued the PM with a veiled threat to hold another Scottish independence referendum "if Westminster fails," unless her Tory government agreed to a second EU referendum.
Blackford's SNP colleague, Pete Wishart, branded May "Weak, weak, weak," after claiming her Brexit deal now "lies in tatters."
Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the EU Commission, has reaffirmed Brussels' position on a possible extension to Article 50. He has insisted that
a deal needs to be signed off between the UK and EU before European Parliament elections on May 23.Junker claims this is necessary, otherwise the UK has to participate in those elections. It means May runs the risk of the EU not granting an extension to June 30, but to May 22.
In her letter to Tusk, May blames UK parliamentarians and House Speaker John Bercow for the delay request. The PM goes on to express her hopes that the EU27 will ratify concessions she received from Juncker last week. She then intends to bring her deal back to parliament for a third meaningful vote, before leaving the bloc by June 30.
Since the withdrawal deal was agreed between May and the EU back in November, it's been comprehensively rejected twice by the House of Commons, leaving the prime minister humiliated and, seemingly, on the brink of being ousted as leader.
Comment: RT
reports further on the Brexit 'delay':
Brexit delayed? Theresa May to request 'short' extension in letter to EU
It has been nearly three years since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, and two years since May herself set the March 29 deadline to formally exit the bloc. Now, she is expected to write a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk to formally request a delay, a move that will surely cause disquiet among Brexiteers.
Since the withdrawal deal was agreed between May and the EU back in November, the deal has twice been rejected by parliament, leaving the prime minister humiliated and, seemingly, on the brink of being ousted as leader.
May has alluded to a delay extending beyond June 30 if parliament does not ratify her deal. This would require the UK to participate in June's European Parliament elections, which could further delay proceedings, increasing the likelihood of yet another round of re-negotiations or possibly even a second referendum.
"There will be no renegotiations, no new negotiations, no additional guarantees in addition to those already given," European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said. "We have intensively moved towards Britain, there can be no more."
France's Macron, who, like May, is quite unpopular at home, doesn't intend on making things any
easier:
May could face humiliating disappointment as Macron strongly opposes Brexit delay
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to oppose the Brexit delay requested by the British PM, Le Point reports. This would block the extension, making a no-deal more likely and result in total failure for Theresa May.
Macron is expected to say no to Theresa May's plea to postpone the Brexit date, the media writes ahead of the meeting at the European Council.
A Elysee official refuted the report by Le Point magazine later on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The request for a Brexit extension must be unanimously backed by all other 27 EU members, which means that a strong opposition from a single country is enough to throw the delay under the bus. Sources within the administration of the French president have repeatedly signaled that Macron would not back it solely to save Britain from a chaotic no-deal Brexit situation.
While May has already asked for an extension, British Parliament has not approved the Brexit plan yet, and it remains unclear whether it will actually do so. Last week, British MPs rejected the ill-fated agreement for the second time - just 17 days before the deadline of March 29. At the same time, they have opposed the 'no-deal' scenario as well, sending quite mixed signals to the EU.
While Macron is apparently taking a strong stance on the UK, he faces a still-growing crisis in France. The ongoing Yellow Vest protests are the major issue which the Macron administration has been unable to tackle for several months. The demonstrations were initially sparked by a fuel tax hike, yet promptly overgrew that scope, targeting low wages, income inequality and Macron's perceived protection of the wealthy establishment.
And is it possible PM May may bail before Brexit gets even more farcical? (if that was even possible) If so, she'd be following in the footsteps of her predecessor, former PM and Conservative leader, David Cameron, who is responsible for offering the UK a vote on Brexit in the first place - knowing it would get him into power but having no honest intention of ever attempting to follow through with it himself.
No Brexit deal by June 30, no May? Downing Street refuses to rule out UK PM quitting
Downing Street officials have declined to rule out Theresa May resigning as PM in the event of her deal not being ratified by the EU by June 30 and a longer Brexit delay being implemented.
[...]
Asked to clarify the PM's position on the length of a delay to Brexit, a spokesman for May refused on four separate occasions to deny that she intended to quit if the deal had not been given the green light by then.
May's spokesman told reporters: "She doesn't believe a long extension is the right thing to do." On whether it would be right to infer the PM could resign within weeks, her spokesman claimed: "What you should infer is her determination to get this over the line."
The PM will meet with leaders of the UK opposition parties on Wednesday evening to discuss extending Article 50.
It comes as French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian warned May's government that they will only agree to granting an extension to Article 50 on the condition she can give guarantees that her Brexit deal will be passed by UK MPs, Reuters reports.
"If May cannot offer guarantees her Brexit deal will be passed in British parliament, the European Council will turn down her extension request."
Donald Tusk, the president of the EU Council, released a statement on Wednesday afternoon, claiming that a short extension was "possible," but conditional on UK MPs voting in favor of the deal next week in parliament.
Earlier, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the EU Commission, reaffirmed Brussels' position on a possible extension to Article 50. He insisted that a deal needed to be signed off between the UK and EU before European Parliament elections on May 23.
May is scheduled to travel to Brussels for an EU summit on Thursday in a bid to secure vital changes to her agreement which can command the support of a majority of MPs and avoid the UK exiting the EU on March 29 without a deal.
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Comment: RT reports further on the Brexit 'delay': France's Macron, who, like May, is quite unpopular at home, doesn't intend on making things any easier: And is it possible PM May may bail before Brexit gets even more farcical? (if that was even possible) If so, she'd be following in the footsteps of her predecessor, former PM and Conservative leader, David Cameron, who is responsible for offering the UK a vote on Brexit in the first place - knowing it would get him into power but having no honest intention of ever attempting to follow through with it himself. See also: