Tusk suggests giving May extension if deal rejected

TEL AVIV: Persistence paid off for an Eritrean migrant in Israel who spent hours going through scratch cards he bought and found a winning ticket worth 1 million shekels (more than R4m).

Michael Galilov, the owner of the south Tel Aviv kiosk where the winning ticket was sold, said yesterday the winner was too overwhelmed to speak.

The winning ticket the man bought costs 100 shekels in Israel, and it was unclear how many tickets he purchased. Galilov said after going through so many cards, the man’s friends tried to tell him it might be time to give up, but he was determined. Many African asylum seekers live in south Tel Aviv, usually in poor conditions. Last year, Israel shelved plans to deport about 40000 African migrants. | dpa EU LEADERS will consider pressing Britain to delay Brexit by at least a year to find a way through its domestic deadlock, the chairperson of next week’s EU summit said yesterday.

“I will appeal to the EU 27 to be open to a long extension if the UK finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus around it,” European Council president Donald Tusk said on Twitter, referring to the other leaders who will meet Prime Minister Theresa May next Thursday.

A senior EU official said Tusk believed Britain would, if May fails to avoid a third parliamentary defeat next week, need at least a year and possibly much longer to find a national consensus on how – and indeed whether – it wants to quit the bloc.

Such an extension, which would depend on May lodging such a request, would require Britain to elect members of the European Parliament when all states hold votes on May 23-26, the official said. It would require unanimous support among the 27 other member states, whose positions are so far unclear.

In the run-up to the two-day quarterly summit, Tusk will travel to meet leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

A number of leading EU figures have been calling for the bloc to refuse any extension beyond the May elections, or at the latest beyond July 2, when the new EU legislature convenes.

Macron has voiced doubts about a longer extension, while Merkel has appeared more open to giving Britain time.

Tusk, however, while hoping May can win lawmakers’ support for her Brexit deal before the summit, believes a short extension would achieve little and is urging leaders not to close down options to give Britain more time.

May, as she prepares for further parliamentary votes on the question of extension beyond the March 29 withdrawal date, has said she could seek an extension to June 30 if lawmakers back her deal next week. But she would seek a much longer delay rather than leave without a deal.

EU discussion of a very long extension to the two-year deadline could bolster May’s tactic of using that as a threat to persuade hardline Brexit supporters to back her deal rather than risk Britain not leaving the EU at all.

EU officials say many are in two minds about delaying Brexit. Many feel the process is distracting the bloc from more pressing business and its May elections. But none relish the risk that Britain might end up leaving without a deal.

In a reply to Tusk’s tweet, Guy Verhofstadt, the liberal leader and Brexit co-ordinator in the European Parliament, hardened his calls for Britain to be cast out as soon as possible unless its lawmakers can agree on a clear strategy. “Under no circumstances an extension in the dark!” he tweeted.

“Unless there is a clear majority in the House of Commons for something precise, there is no reason at all for the European Council to agree on a prolongation.” | Reuters