UK required to give reason for any Brexit delay
(VOVWORLD) - The European Commission on Wednesday said the UK must give them a specific reason for any delay of Brexit, which is scheduled to take place at the end of this month, and said EU leaders will give priority to not disrupting EU institutions.
EC President Jean-Claude Juncker (R) and British Prime Minister Theresa May at a press conference in Strasbourg, France, on March 11, 2019. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
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Noting Thursday’s vote in the British Parliament to ask for a delay in leaving the EU, an EC spokesman said a request for an extension of Article 50 requires the unanimous agreement of all 27 EU members.
The EC is due to meet next Thursday and Friday. Several leaders have already said that Britain must either have left before a new European Parliament is elected in May to take office in July or must hold its own EU election in order to avoid any legal challenge to the legitimacy of the legislature.
On Thursday, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, urged everyone not to underestimate the risks of a no-deal Brexit.