“The exit will be delayed for a few more months”: how the British Parliament passed the amendment on a new deferment of Brexit

British MPs approved the amendment, which obliges the Prime Minister of the country, Boris Johnson, to request the leadership of the European Union about another postponement of Brexit. Moreover, in accordance with the new document, Johnson should do this regardless of the results of the vote on the draft transaction with the EU, which he agreed with Brussels on October 17.

At first, the prime minister said that he would not do this, but then it became known that the British government sent three letters to Brussels at once.

The first, which was not signed by Johnson, set out a request to delay the implementation of Brexit. His head of the Cabinet was obliged, according to the law, to send to the EU before the end of Saturday, if by that time the British Parliament had not approved the deal with Brussels.

The second message, written by Timothy Barrow, representative of the United Kingdom to the EU, explained that the proposal in the previous letter was actually from the parliament, not from the government. In the third message, which Johnson himself had already written for the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, it was stated that the prime minister did not want a postponement, since it would harm both the European Union and Britain.

“Although the satisfaction of the petition submitted by order of the (British. - RT ) parliament, or the proposal of a different grace period, remains at the discretion of the European Council, since I became prime minister, I have clearly indicated, including today’s parliament, my the government’s opinion and position that a further extension (Brexit term. - RT ) will harm the interests of the UK and our EU partners, as well as our relations with them, ”Johnson said.

The British prime minister added that many of those "who voted against the government declare their readiness to support the deal and contribute to its ratification without delay." He informed his European colleagues about his desire to come to the emergency EU summit, which may be needed to approve the postponement, in order to personally state the position of the British government on this issue.

• Brexit protest in London
• Reuters
• © Henry Nicholls

Johnson also emphasized that the Cabinet of Ministers headed by him will continue preparations for leaving the EU according to the schedule on the terms of the agreement reached by London and Brussels at the EU summit on October 17. The politician expressed hope that the European leadership “will contribute to the promotion of the transaction” and take steps to ensure that the brexit is completed on time - by October 31.

Copies of the letter to Tusk were sent to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Parliament David Sassoli and members of the European Council.

Donald Tusk, commenting on the actions of London, said that he was starting consultations with EU leaders on how to respond to this request.

“Just received a request for a deferment (Brexit. - RT ). Now I’ll begin to consult with EU leaders on how to respond, ”wrote the head of the European Council on Twitter.

The extension request has just arrived. I will now start consulting EU leaders on how to react. #Brexit

Johnson also warned British parliamentarians that the EU might refuse to grant a respite or not do it quickly enough. Under these conditions, the prime minister called on deputies to vote for the agreement.

Householder Jacob Rhys-Mogg said the vote on the new deal, which was due on Saturday, October 19, will be postponed until Monday.

According to the expert of the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, Vladimir Bruter, the European Union is likely to meet the British Parliament.

“The EU will agree to give London another postponement. Most likely, this question has been agreed, since those who came up with the corresponding initiative at the parliament meeting knew roughly what the answer would be, ”he said in an interview with RT.

If the European Union still refuses to satisfy the request for the postponement of Brexit, the British parliament will have several options for action, the analyst said.

“They can approve the agreement reached by Johnson and the EU, or withdraw from the EU in a tough scenario. Another option is Johnson’s resignation, which will allow them to replay the whole situation, ”said Bruter.

In turn, Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior fellow at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, suggested that it was Johnson’s resignation that was the main goal of British parliamentarians.

“Most likely, they are seeking the resignation of the prime minister. If Johnson resigns and the conservative party remains in power, they will nominate a new candidate, which will be a repeat of the Theresa May’s resignation. But there is another option - holding early parliamentary elections, ”Olenchenko said in an interview with RT.

Parliamentary insurance

According to experts, the new amendment is intended to become the insurance that the opposition creates to prevent the so-called hard brexitis. Boris Johnson has repeatedly stated that if his cabinet does not conclude a deal with the European leadership, then Britain will leave the European Union without it.

• Brexit protest in London
• Reuters
• © Henry Nicholls

Great Britain was supposed to leave the EU on March 29, 2019. However, the government back then, under the leadership of Theresa May, was not able to approve the draft agreement with the European Union in the House of Commons of the British Parliament, where the voices of supporters and opponents of Brexit were divided approximately equally.

After the parliamentarians several times rejected the draft agreement proposed by May’s cabinet, she had to resign. Boris Johnson called the previous version of the deal with the EU “defeatist,” because, in his opinion, he only assumed a formal secession from the European Union: in fact, London still had to obey its trade rules, losing the right to vote in the European Parliament.

Boris Johnson himself suffered a major defeat in parliament in early September: due to the transfer of one of the deputies to the opposition camp, the Conservative Party lost the parliamentary majority. After that, parliamentarians were able to enact a law prohibiting a “hard” brexit, and blocked Johnson’s proposal for early elections, which could change the balance of power in the House of Commons.

According to Olenchenko, this situation creates a feeling of uncertainty and uncertainty that the government can fulfill the will of citizens expressed in the 2016 referendum.

“It causes a negative mood. Brexit is a matter of consumer prices for the general public. The termination of EU membership implies a transitional customs period, but many in the country believe that after October 31, goods from the EU will immediately rise in price due to the introduction of new duties. The inability of the government to reach an agreement does not allow citizens to prepare for new economic realities, ”the political scientist explained.

Deputy Director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, political scientist Vladimir Shapovalov in an interview with RT noted that Johnson’s opponents are counting on precisely this internal discontent among citizens.

“Despite the fact that a significant part of the British are in favor of Britain leaving the EU, the discontent is really growing. The fact that this story does not end in any way and the process is constantly dragging out leads to the fact that the number of opponents of the policies of the current conservative government is constantly increasing, ”the expert said.

EU response

In the European Union itself, the adoption of an amendment requiring Johnson to ask for another postponement was perceived ambiguously. The official representative of the European Commission, Mina Andreeva, in particular, said that Brussels is waiting for clarification on the next steps for Britain to withdraw from the EU.

“The European Commission takes note of today's vote in the House of Commons on the so-called Letvin amendment, which means that the agreement on withdrawal (from the EU. - RT ) was not put to the vote today. The UK government should inform us of the next steps as soon as possible, ”Andreeva said on Twitter.

🇪🇺🇬🇧 @EU_Commission takes note of the vote in the House of Commons today on the so-called #Letwin Amendment meaning that the #WithdrawalAgreement itself was not put to vote today. It will be for the UK government to inform us about the next steps as soon as possible.

French leader Emmanuel Macron also called on Boris Johnson to clarify London’s position.

“The President (Macron. - RT ) talked with the British Prime Minister and noted the need to clarify the situation as soon as possible,” a source in the Champs Elysees told Reuters. “He stressed that no one is interested in the delay.”

According to him, Macron added that the delay in this case will not benefit anyone.

According to Vladimir Shapovalov, European dissatisfaction with the actions of London will increase. The EU has already made certain concessions to the governments of May and Johnson and hoped that this will allow a quick resolution of the Brexit issue, the expert noted.

“At the moment, this has not happened. Today, it is not the EU that sets additional conditions and slows down the process of concluding an agreement, but the internal political opponents of the government of Boris Johnson in parliament. It is completely incomprehensible what actions should be taken further in Brussels in order to reach an agreement. I think this situation finally leads EU leaders to the idea that the modern British government and parliament are non-negotiable and cannot lead the UK to an agreement on leaving the EU, which can suit both sides, ”the political scientist said in a conversation with RT.

In his opinion, this situation may lead to the fact that Brussels will refuse the concessions that were made during the last round of negotiations between EU leaders and Boris Johnson.

“The British political elites go around in circles, the situation has returned to what happened during the period of Theresa May’s government. If no decision is made before October 31 and the position of those who united against the government of Boris Johnson prevails, then most likely it will end with the dissolution of the parliament and the elections, respectively, the new government will decide what to do next. In this case, the crisis will be prolonged, and the British exit will drag on for several more months, ”concluded Shapovalov.