EU leaders might delay exit until Jan. 31

BRUSSELS» The timetable of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union was in limbo on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson waiting on EU leaders to decide whether and how long to delay his country’s departure from the bloc.

Europeans had been waiting to see how far Johnson’s Brexit deal could proceed in Parliament before they decided whether to delay the day of the split, which is scheduled for Oct. 31. But with parliamentary votes on Tuesday forcing Johnson to allow lawmakers more time to scrutinize the terms of Britain’s departure, the control of the timing reverts back to Brussels.

The likeliest outcome is for EU leaders to delay the departure until Jan. 31, the day requested by Johnson in an unsigned letter he sent under protest on Saturday. British lawmakers forced him to ask for a delay rather than to lead Britain out of the European Union in October without any deal in place to buffer the way.

“I’m recommending the EU27 accept the U.K. request for an extension,” European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted Wednesday, saying he had spoken to Johnson by phone to explain his reasoning.

Under the likeliest terms of an extension, Britain could leave earlier than the end of January if it approves the withdrawal deal before that and says it wants to go.

But it was not fully resolved whether EU leaders would go along with Tusk. France, in particular, has been deeply skeptical about repeated delays to the departure, with President Emmanuel Macron questioning whether the bloc’s being flexible takes too much pressure off British lawmakers to act.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who has been an important voice in the Brexit discussions, said Wednesday that he would support the extension until Jan. 31.

Johnson has floated the idea of holding a general election, but it remains unclear how that would fit into a Brexit delay, and for now, EU leaders aren’t showing much interest in factoring that into their decision.

If the remaining 27 EU countries are comfortable with putting off Brexit

until the end of January, they could agree to it on Friday without further discussion. If not, EU leaders would have to discuss it in person, probably on Monday.

“We need clarity on the next steps and a political clarification to stop the toxic uncertainty that is hurting European citizens, millions of families and businesses,” French EU affairs minister Amélie de Montchalin told the French parliament n Tuesday. “An extension is requested: What for? With what justifications? We know that time alone will not bring the solution, but a political decision. We cannot extend this situation indefinitely.”

There was little progress in London on Wednesday, as Johnson met with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn but

Branson: Brexit “saddest” event for Britain, Europe since World War II:

TEL

EL» Virgin Group A VIV, ISR A founder Richard Branson says Brexit is the “saddest thing” that’s happened to Britain and Europe since World War II.

Speaking in Israel, where he was inaugurating new Virgin Atlantic services, Branson said British voters were “misled” before the 2016 referendum and, if given another chance, would vote to stay in Europe.

He added: “I would certainly recommend that that’s how they should vote.” — The Associated Press failed to agree on a timetable to move the Brexit bill forward.