EU could force UK to take part in latest European elections

EU LEADERS should not give the UK a “free ride” if it seeks a longer extension to Article 50 next week and should make participating in European Parliamentary elections a strict condition of a longer extension, EU ambassadors were told last night.

In a briefing document they were warned that the EU would be rendered “legally unstable” if the UK remained a member without participating in the European elections.

The document, seen by The Daily Telegraph, warned that “no extension should be granted beyond 1 July unless the European Parliament elections are held at the mandatory date”.

The document also warns that if an initial extension runs to a date beyond the May 23 European elections it “would make any further extension impossible” unless elections are held.

EU sources warned granting an extension until June 30 would effectively make that date a hard cliff-edge for a “no deal” if the UK failed to fulfil its obligations to elect MEPS.

Some EU member states, including Germany, are understood to have argued for some flexibility, to insure themselves against the risk that Theresa May wins only narrow backing for her deal and then fails to pass implementing legislation.

However, an EU source said that the prospect of a “flextension” was the “least favoured option in the room”, because it would rob business of investment certainty. Jean-claude Juncker, the European Commission president, warned this week that holding elections would be a condition of any extension beyond May 23.

The Telegraph understands that Michel Barnier, the EU chief negotiator, urged member states not to give an extension beyond May 23 to avoid a scenario where the UK revoked Article 50 in June having not held elections, throwing the EU into a legal limbo.

If EU leaders made holding EU elections a condition of accepting a longer package, the UK would need to legislate for those elections in April. If the UK did hold elections then the advice was clear that “in principle” there was no reason why there could not be more than one extension – although the EU is clear that, politically, it has no appetite for prolonged uncertainty.

Any extension requested by the UK must be agreed unanimously by the other 27 EU member states, and the document was clear that the EU could not attach conditions to any extensions. One senior EU source said the decision on extension could be taken in “the final hours” of March 29.

The deliberations came amid speculation that Eurosceptic governments in Italy and Hungary would veto the Article 50 extension. Hungary is dependent on EU funding, while Italy’s manufacturing and agriculture would suffer from a no deal, making a veto unlikely.

An Italian government source confirmed there would be no veto from Rome. The source suggested that the extension could be as long as 21 months in order to political space for a fresh approach to the deal.