May warned delay plea will be rejected without details
British prime minister Theresa May has been warned her last-ditch plea to extend next Friday’s Brexit deadline will be rejected within 48 hours unless she can explain exactly how the extra time will be used.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier issued the threat last night — with Mr Barnier openly citing a British election or second referendum as reasons to allow a delay.
In a dramatic development with just 10 days to go until the current Brexit deadline, Ms May yesterday told her cabinet she has run out of road and will write to European Council president Donald Tusk seeking a divorce date delay. Her letter — which is due before tomorrow’s two-day EU summit in Brussels — is understood to focus on a request for a two-year Brexit delay with an “escape clause” if she can pass her battered Brexit through parliament next week. The move has divided opinion in Britain, with Brexiteers insisting it is an attempt to force them to accept the existing deal, “yellow vest” protesters charging the UK attorney general Geoffrey Cox’s office, and Remainers saying it could spell the end of Brexit.
However, in a move that risks torpedoing the offer, Irish and EU leaders said Ms May’s plea will be rejected unless she can explain exactly how any further delay will end the long-running stand-off.
Speaking in Brussels, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said while the EU is “open” to an extension, there are concerns a two-year delay with no clear details will risk more political and economic damage. Warning “it’s important the British government gets the message”, he said “people would be very foolish to assume an extension will automatically be facilitated”.
In a separate EU General Affairs Council meeting, sources told the Irish Examiner Mr Barnier said Ms May must give reasons for how a delay would be used — specifically citing a British election or a second referendum.
He later said that while a “written procedure” could be given to Ms May allowing a delay to be quickly passed next week if MPs finally back her Brexit deal, this will not happen unless she offers “something new”.
The stand-off is set to dominate this morning’s cabinet meeting just a day before Taoiseach Leo Varadkar travels to Brussels for the EU summit.
