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The Latest: EU, UK agree to delay Brexit until Halloween
BRUSSELS (AP) ‐ The latest on Britain’s exit from the European Union (all times local):British Prime Minister Theresa May says the European Union has granted her "key request" to add an early exit clause to its agreement to a six-month Brexit extension. The U.K. and the EU agreed early Thursday to delay Brexit until Oct. 31, but May says she wants to leave "as soon as possible." She says that if U.K. lawmakers back her Brexit deal, her country can still leave before June 30 ‐ the Brexit deadline that she had requested from the bloc. May says Britain faces "stark" choices "and the timetable is clear." French President Emmanuel Macron says a last-ditch six-month extension for Brexit is the "best possible compromise" to protect the rest of the European Union. Macron was the main holdout among EU leaders at an emergency summit in Brussels against a long extension of Britain’s already-delayed departure from the EU. But he agreed early Thursday with other EU leaders to extend Brexit until Oct. 31. He told reporters later that he did this "to preserve the unity" of the remaining 27 member states and to give Britain "more time to deliver a deal" that would prevent chaos in trade and travel when it leaves the EU. Macron said it’s now "up to Britons to be clear with themselves and their people" about whether they want to participate in the European Parliament elections next month even though they would have to abandon the legislature a few months later. EU Council chief Donald Tusk is pleading with the United Kingdom to use the special six-month Brexit extension it has been granted to the fullest of its ability. After the agreement was announced early Thursday, Tusk said, "Let me finish with the message to our British friends: Please do not waste this time." And even though the decision also includes a June review of progress, Tusk says the new date will not amount to a cliff-edge cutoff of UK membership as March 29 had done for so long. Tusk says that "our intention is to finalize the whole process in October." Posted by: Besoeker 2019-04-11 |
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