Johnson warns of an election as EU leaders urged to delay Brexit
EUROPEAN Council president Donald Tusk on Tuesday recommended that EU leaders postpone Britain’s departure from the bloc while its prime minister seeks approval of their divorce deal.
EU ambassadors were to meet in Brussels on Wednesday after the British House of Commons rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s bid to set a tight three-day schedule to approve a Brexit bill this week.
This effectively destroyed London and Brussels’ hopes that a treaty for an orderly withdrawal will be ratified before October 31, Johnson’s preferred departure date – implying an extension.
Johnson warned Members of Parliament (MPs) ahead of the votes on Tuesday that he would pull his Brexit deal legislation and try to hold a general election if they rejected his timetable – although he did not repeat the threat afterwards.
Riding high in the polls, he has already unsuccessfully tried twice to get an early election to win back a majority in parliament and seemed buoyed by having secured MPs’ initial approval for his new Brexit deal.
But he needs the support of the main opposition Labour Party for an election to be called and it has so far resisted.
Labour says it would back an election when the threat of a “no-deal” Brexit is off the table.
France said it was open to a “technical” Brexit extension of “several days” but ruled out reopening discussions to renegotiate the deal.
Tusk said the member state leaders could agree in writing rather than holding a summit. EU ambassadors will meet on Wednesday, but a European source said an immediate decision was not expected.
Tusk said that after Johnson’s “decision to pause the process of ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, and to avoid a no-deal Brexit, I will recommend the EU27 accept the UK request for an extension”.
On Saturday, MPs forced a reluctant Johnson to request a three-month delay until January 31 next year, and a European official confirmed that Tusk was recommending accepting this date.
But other European sources said member states might argue for a short extension after consulting with Johnson’s government to find the best way to help him get his withdrawal bill through.
In France, European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin said that Paris was open to a short technical extension.
“At the end of the week, we will see if a purely technical extension of several days is justified for the British parliament to finish its parliamentary procedure.
“Beyond such a perspective, an extension aimed at gaining time to rediscuss the deal is excluded,” she told the French Senate.
“It’s difficult to see how we get through this without a delay,” a European official said.
Another European source said: “The question is the length of the extension. If it’s too short we’ll just have to come back and do it again, so that’s useless.
“Too long, and that’s going to lead to political turbulence in the United Kingdom,” he warned.
Before losing the vote on a short timetable for the withdrawal act, Johnson did win broad preliminary approval for the deal, and European leaders seized on this as a sign of hope.
“It’s welcome that the House of Commons voted by a clear majority in favour of legislation needed to enact
Withdrawal Agreement,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said.
“We will now await further developments from London and Brussels about next steps including a timetable for the legislation and the need for an extension.”
Before the votes, Johnson had repeatedly said that he will take Britain out of the EU on October 31, with or without a withdrawal agreement.
He reached such a deal with EU leaders last week, but on Saturday he was forced by parliament to send Tusk a letter requesting that Britain’s withdrawal be postponed for three months.
Such an extension would have to be unanimously approved by the other 27 EU national leaders.