United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum
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EU Council President Donald Tusk considers parliamentary approval in London on the negotiated Brexit treaty unlikely in the coming weeks, and therefore calls for a prolonged shift in Britain's EU exit. "Our experience and the deep division within the lower house give us little reason to believe that the ratification process can be completed by the end of June," Tusk wrote in his invitation to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her EU colleagues on the Brexit summit on Tuesday Wednesday in Brussels.
British Prime Minister Theresa May had previously asked the EU to postpone the Brexit appointment. May hopes for a delay until the end of June. However, Tusk said that the past few months give little hope that there will be an agreement in the British Parliament until then. A short Brexit shift carries the risk of ever new special summits and ever new deadlines. "That's why I think we should discuss an alternative, longer deadline extension." Then Britain could think again about its strategy.
One possibility is a flexible extension that would only last as long as necessary, but not longer than a year. However, in order to meet the concerns of some EU countries, some conditions would have to be set in this case: for example, the Brexit Treaty would not be renegotiated and Britain would have to behave in a manner that would reflect the situation as a departing EU Member. Merkel also considers a Brexit shift to be possible by the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020 (read the recent Brexit developments in the minute protocol).
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EU leaders are discussing a renewed postponement of Britain's EU exit on Wednesday. If they can not find an agreement, Friday threatens a chaotic EU exit from the UK. For a regular exit, the British House of Commons would have to agree to the Brexit Treaty. However, MEPs have already voted against the agreement three times.