EU in Brexit lifeline

May has one last chance to get her deal through parliament

EIGHT days before Brexit, the European Union has thrown a lifeline to Theresa May, agreeing to extend the UK’s departure to give her one final go at getting her deal through the British parliament.

The 27 remaining EU leaders rejected the Prime Minister’s appeal for an extension until June 30, and in a draft proposal leaked to the media, suggested they would extend until May 22, but only if she got her Withdrawal Agreement through the House of Commons next week.

But in a late-night switch, the EU amended its position to allow for a second, much longer extension if Mrs May’s deal isn’t passed by the House of Commons by April 12.

While a longer delay would force the UK into the position of having to fight European elections – more than 1000 days after the country voted to leave the European Union – it would prevent a no-deal Brexit, which MPs fear would cause short-term chaos to the nation and its economy. The offer from the EU heads off the likelihood of an accidental no-deal Brexit on Friday week.

Mrs May’s deal, agreed after two years of negotiations, has been roundly defeated in the House of Commons twice, and the Speaker John Bercow has ruled she can’t introduce it again without major changes. However, the EU will not make any changes.

While MPs had voted to never leave the EU without a deal, they failed to pass an alternative law, and the legal default had the UK crashing out of the EU at 11pm on March 29, until the latest intervention.

French President Emmanuel Macron had continued to put pressure on the UK, telling reporters in Brussels: “In the case of a negative British vote then we’d be heading to a No Deal. We all know it.’’

But the pressure may work in Mrs May’s favour. Brexiteers who previously blocked the deal may now accept it for fear of causing a long delay or even cancelling Brexit totally.