Brexit: UK asks EU for further extension until 30 June - BBC News

Theresa May has written to the European Union to request a further delay to Brexit until 30 June.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 12 April and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by MPs.

The government has been in talks with the Labour Party to try and find a compromise to put to the Commons.

But shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the Tory negotiating team had offered no changes to Mrs May's original deal.

The PM said from the outset she wanted to keep her withdrawal agreement as part of any plan, but was willing to discuss the UK's future relationship with the EU - addressed in the deal's political declaration.

Sir Keir said the government was "not countenancing any change to the actual wording of the political declaration", adding: "Compromise requires change."

The prime minister has proposed that if UK MPs approve a deal in time, the UK should be able to leave before European Parliamentary elections on 23 May.

But she said the UK would prepare to field candidates in those elections in case no agreement is reached.

It is up to the EU whether to grant an extension to Article 50, the legal process through which the UK is leaving the EU, after MPs repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement reached between the UK and the bloc.

'Flexible extension'

The BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler has been told by a senior EU source that European Council President Donald Tusk will propose a 12-month "flexible" extension to Brexit, with the option of cutting it short, if the UK Parliament ratifies a deal.

But French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Friday that it was "premature" to consider another delay while French diplomatic sources described Mr Tusk's suggestion as a "clumsy test balloon".

The prime minister wrote to Mr Tusk to request the extension ahead of an EU summit on 10 April, where EU leaders would have to unanimously agree on any plan to delay the UK's departure.

Mrs May has already requested an extension to the end of June but this was rejected at a summit last month.

Instead, she was offered a short delay to 12 April - the date by which the UK must say whether it intends to take part in the European Parliamentary elections - or until 22 May, if UK MPs had approved the withdrawal deal negotiated with the EU. They voted it down for a third time last week.

A Downing Street spokesman said there were "different circumstances now" and the prime minister "has been clear she is seeking a short extension".

Why 30 June?

The 30 June date is significant.

It's the day before the new European Parliament will hold its first session. So the logic is, that it would allow the UK a bit longer to seal a deal - but without the need for British MEPs to take their seats in a parliament that the UK electorate had voted to leave as long ago as 2016.

But, this being Theresa May, it's a plan she has previously proposed - and which has already been rejected.

It's likely the EU will reject it again and offer a longer extension, with the ability to leave earlier if Parliament agrees a deal.

But by asking for a relatively short extension - even if she is unsuccessful - the prime minister will be hoping to escape the ire of some of her Brexit-supporting backbenchers who are champing at the bit to leave.

And she will try to signal to Leave-supporting voters that her choice is to get out of the EU as soon as is practicable - and that a longer extension will be something that is forced upon her, rather than something which she embraces.

In her letter, the prime minister says she would continue to seek the "rapid approval" of the withdrawal agreement and a "shared vision" for the future relationship between the UK and EU.

She said if cross-party talks with the Labour Party could not establish "a single unified approach" in the UK Parliament - MPs would be asked to vote on a series of Brexit options instead which the government "stands ready to abide by", if Labour commits to doing the same.

The UK proposes an extension to the process until 30 June, she wrote, and "accepts the European Council's view that if the United Kingdom were still a member state of the European Union on 23 May 2019, it would be under a legal obligation to hold the elections".

To this end, she says the UK is "undertaking the lawful and responsible preparations for this contingency".

But she suggests the UK should be able to leave earlier, if the UK Parliament approves a withdrawal deal before then, and cancel preparations for the European Parliamentary elections.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels, said any extension granted should be the last and final offer, to maintain the EU's credibility.

Tusk's 'flextension'

You could almost hear the sound of collective eye-rolling across 27 European capitals after Theresa May requested a Brexit extension-time that Brussels has already repeatedly rejected.

Most EU leaders are leaning towards a longer Brexit delay, to avoid being constantly approached by the PM for a rolling series of short extensions, with the threat of a no-deal Brexit always just round the corner.

Donald Tusk believes he has hit on a compromise solution: his "flextension" which would last a year, with the UK able to walk away from it, as soon as Parliament ratifies the Brexit deal.

But EU leaders are not yet singing from the same hymn sheet on this.

Expect closed-door political fireworks - though it's unclear whether it'll be a modest display or an all-out extravaganza - at their emergency Brexit summit next week. Under EU law, they have to hammer out a unanimous position.

Read Katya's blog

Talks between Labour and the Conservatives are continuing on Friday.

Speaking to Labour activists in Newport on Friday, Mr Corbyn said the government "haven't appeared to have changed their opinions very much as yet". He said Labour would push to maintain the UK's "market relationship with Europe", including defending rights and regulations.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK still hoped to leave "in the next couple of months" but it may have "little choice" but to accept a longer delay if Parliament could not agree a solution.

But Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said the EU "should be careful what it wishes for".

"If we have EU elections, it is likely UKIP, Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage will do well," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

Another Tory Eurosceptic, Sir Bernard Jenkin, said he would prefer to stay in the EU for another year than for Britain to accept a "humiliating defeat" of a withdrawal agreement.

The Scottish National Party's Stephen Gethins said that the prime minister's proposal "demonstrates beyond doubt she is putting the interests of her fractured Tory Party above all else".

"It is clear that with the UK Parliament unable to reach a consensus - coupled with everything we now know on the damaging impact Brexit will have on the UK economy, jobs and living standards - it must now be the priority that the issue is brought back to the people in a fresh second EU referendum, with the option to remain on the ballot paper."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47825841

2019-04-06 12:46:57Z
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Brexit Is Happening Now (at Least on Some U.K. Passports) - The New York Times

LONDON — Some British citizens planning to travel abroad already have a tangible sign of what life will look like once the country is no longer a member of the European Union: new passports missing “European Union” on the front cover.

Last month, even as lawmakers wrestled over the principal terms of the withdrawal process known as Brexit, the Home Office said that the design of new passports would change after March 29, the initial date set for Britain’s departure.

For a while, both the old and new designs will be made and both are valid for travel, the Home Office said, adding, “You will not be able to choose whether you get a passport that includes the words European Union or a passport that does not.”

While Brexit itself has been delayed — the original departure deadline was extended to April 12, and Prime Minister Theresa May has asked Brussels for a further postponement — the passport changes have moved forward as planned.

One early recipient, Susan Hindle Barone, posted images of her new and old British passports on Twitter on Friday, asking others to “spot the difference!”

Both passports have burgundy covers dominated by a golden coat of arms. But on one, the words “European Union” were missing from the top.

“Truly appalled,” Ms. Hindle Barone wrote. “I didn’t notice it until I looked at them next to each other. It makes me feel sick.”

In an email on Saturday, Ms. Hindle Barone, a supporter of remaining in the European Union wrote: “I was just shocked and dismayed to see the change to the passport as we haven’t left the E.U. yet. It’s not the passport itself, but what the changes symbolize — something which I believe to be completely futile.”

What Is Brexit? A Simple Guide to Why It Matters and What Happens Next

The basics of Brexit, the troubled plan for Britain to quit the European Union.

A Home Office spokeswoman told the BBC that “in order to use leftover stock and achieve best value to the taxpayer,” British passports with “European Union” will still be issued for “a short period.”

Among the chief uncertainties surrounding Brexit was how traveling to Europe would change, depending on whether Britain reached a deal with the bloc. In posters on public transport and the internet, the government has warned people to renew their passports early if they planned to travel as the Brexit process was unfolding.

Drivers who held pink plastic permits under European Union standards were told to get ready to apply for international licenses in case Britain left without a deal.

[Here is what a no-deal Brexit would look like.]

But for Britons, whose passports sometimes are their only form of identification, the document has come to symbolize Brexit. When the government announced that it would return to the old blue passports after Brexit, hailed by Mrs. May (who supported remaining in the bloc) as “an expression of independence,” those in favor of the withdrawal saw a strong sign of their country reclaiming control.

Their joy was soon tempered by news that the documents would most likely be manufactured in France.

The symbolism of seemingly mundane documents is not limited to passports. In 2015, a year after Scotland voted not to declare independence from the United Kingdom, the government placed the British flag on driving licenses issued in England, Scotland and Wales in a bid to foster national unity.

(Driver’s licenses are handled differently in Northern Ireland.) The transport minister at the time, Tariq Ahmad, described the addition as “a true celebration of one-nation Britain.”

The European Union requires its members to make passports with certain security elements, but it does not mandate a uniform design. Nearly all 28 member countries have adopted the recommended layout: the name of the bloc on top, followed by the name of the country, a coat of arms and the word “passport,” with translations of information on the cover in all 24 official languages inside.

Only Croatia, which joined the bloc in 2013, has continued to issue a dark-blue passport.

Britain first issued blue passports in 1921. It had 32 pages and was written in French, according to the Home Office. Passports carried the signature of the foreign secretary until 1947. The covers were changed to burgundy in 1988 to align with Britain’s European partners.

Britons eager to start using a blue passport will have to wait until at least the end of the year, when the government will begin phasing them in. But burgundy booklets will continue to be issued until early 2020.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/world/europe/uk-british-passport-brexit.html

2019-04-06 12:21:46Z
CAIiEHZQOiqDDS29tqisELEDkE4qFwgEKg8IACoHCAowjuuKAzCWrzwwt4QY

Brexit: UK asks EU for further extension until 30 June - BBC News

Theresa May has written to the European Union to request a further delay to Brexit until 30 June.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 12 April and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by MPs.

The government has been in talks with the Labour Party to try and find a compromise to put to the Commons.

But shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the Tory negotiating team had offered no changes to Mrs May's original deal.

The PM said from the outset she wanted to keep her withdrawal agreement as part of any plan, but was willing to discuss the UK's future relationship with the EU - addressed in the deal's political declaration.

Sir Keir said the government was "not countenancing any change to the actual wording of the political declaration", adding: "Compromise requires change."

The prime minister has proposed that if UK MPs approve a deal in time, the UK should be able to leave before European Parliamentary elections on 23 May.

But she said the UK would prepare to field candidates in those elections in case no agreement is reached.

It is up to the EU whether to grant an extension to Article 50, the legal process through which the UK is leaving the EU, after MPs repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement reached between the UK and the bloc.

'Flexible extension'

The BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler has been told by a senior EU source that European Council President Donald Tusk will propose a 12-month "flexible" extension to Brexit, with the option of cutting it short, if the UK Parliament ratifies a deal.

But French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Friday that it was "premature" to consider another delay while French diplomatic sources described Mr Tusk's suggestion as a "clumsy test balloon".

The prime minister wrote to Mr Tusk to request the extension ahead of an EU summit on 10 April, where EU leaders would have to unanimously agree on any plan to delay the UK's departure.

Mrs May has already requested an extension to the end of June but this was rejected at a summit last month.

Instead, she was offered a short delay to 12 April - the date by which the UK must say whether it intends to take part in the European Parliamentary elections - or until 22 May, if UK MPs had approved the withdrawal deal negotiated with the EU. They voted it down for a third time last week.

A Downing Street spokesman said there were "different circumstances now" and the prime minister "has been clear she is seeking a short extension".

Why 30 June?

The 30 June date is significant.

It's the day before the new European Parliament will hold its first session. So the logic is, that it would allow the UK a bit longer to seal a deal - but without the need for British MEPs to take their seats in a parliament that the UK electorate had voted to leave as long ago as 2016.

But, this being Theresa May, it's a plan she has previously proposed - and which has already been rejected.

It's likely the EU will reject it again and offer a longer extension, with the ability to leave earlier if Parliament agrees a deal.

But by asking for a relatively short extension - even if she is unsuccessful - the prime minister will be hoping to escape the ire of some of her Brexit-supporting backbenchers who are champing at the bit to leave.

And she will try to signal to Leave-supporting voters that her choice is to get out of the EU as soon as is practicable - and that a longer extension will be something that is forced upon her, rather than something which she embraces.

In her letter, the prime minister says she would continue to seek the "rapid approval" of the withdrawal agreement and a "shared vision" for the future relationship between the UK and EU.

She said if cross-party talks with the Labour Party could not establish "a single unified approach" in the UK Parliament - MPs would be asked to vote on a series of Brexit options instead which the government "stands ready to abide by", if Labour commits to doing the same.

The UK proposes an extension to the process until 30 June, she wrote, and "accepts the European Council's view that if the United Kingdom were still a member state of the European Union on 23 May 2019, it would be under a legal obligation to hold the elections".

To this end, she says the UK is "undertaking the lawful and responsible preparations for this contingency".

But she suggests the UK should be able to leave earlier, if the UK Parliament approves a withdrawal deal before then, and cancel preparations for the European Parliamentary elections.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels, said any extension granted should be the last and final offer, to maintain the EU's credibility.

Tusk's 'flextension'

You could almost hear the sound of collective eye-rolling across 27 European capitals after Theresa May requested a Brexit extension-time that Brussels has already repeatedly rejected.

Most EU leaders are leaning towards a longer Brexit delay, to avoid being constantly approached by the PM for a rolling series of short extensions, with the threat of a no-deal Brexit always just round the corner.

Donald Tusk believes he has hit on a compromise solution: his "flextension" which would last a year, with the UK able to walk away from it, as soon as Parliament ratifies the Brexit deal.

But EU leaders are not yet singing from the same hymn sheet on this.

Expect closed-door political fireworks - though it's unclear whether it'll be a modest display or an all-out extravaganza - at their emergency Brexit summit next week. Under EU law, they have to hammer out a unanimous position.

Read Katya's blog

Talks between Labour and the Conservatives are continuing on Friday.

Speaking to Labour activists in Newport on Friday, Mr Corbyn said the government "haven't appeared to have changed their opinions very much as yet". He said Labour would push to maintain the UK's "market relationship with Europe", including defending rights and regulations.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK still hoped to leave "in the next couple of months" but it may have "little choice" but to accept a longer delay if Parliament could not agree a solution.

But Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said the EU "should be careful what it wishes for".

"If we have EU elections, it is likely UKIP, Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage will do well," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

Another Tory Eurosceptic, Sir Bernard Jenkin, said he would prefer to stay in the EU for another year than for Britain to accept a "humiliating defeat" of a withdrawal agreement.

The Scottish National Party's Stephen Gethins said that the prime minister's proposal "demonstrates beyond doubt she is putting the interests of her fractured Tory Party above all else".

"It is clear that with the UK Parliament unable to reach a consensus - coupled with everything we now know on the damaging impact Brexit will have on the UK economy, jobs and living standards - it must now be the priority that the issue is brought back to the people in a fresh second EU referendum, with the option to remain on the ballot paper."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47825841

2019-04-06 07:34:51Z
CBMiLWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1wb2xpdGljcy00NzgyNTg0MdIBMWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9hbXAvdWstcG9saXRpY3MtNDc4MjU4NDE

Brexit: UK asks EU for further extension until 30 June - BBC News

Theresa May has written to the European Union to request a further delay to Brexit until 30 June.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 12 April and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by MPs.

The government has been in talks with the Labour Party to try and find a compromise to put to the Commons.

But shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the Tory negotiating team had offered no changes to Mrs May's original deal.

The PM said from the outset she wanted to keep her withdrawal agreement as part of any plan, but was willing to discuss the UK's future relationship with the EU - addressed in the deal's political declaration.

Sir Keir said the government was "not countenancing any change to the actual wording of the political declaration", adding: "Compromise requires change."

The prime minister has proposed that if UK MPs approve a deal in time, the UK should be able to leave before European Parliamentary elections on 23 May.

But she said the UK would prepare to field candidates in those elections in case no agreement is reached.

It is up to the EU whether to grant an extension to Article 50, the legal process through which the UK is leaving the EU, after MPs repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement reached between the UK and the bloc.

'Flexible extension'

The BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler has been told by a senior EU source that European Council President Donald Tusk will propose a 12-month "flexible" extension to Brexit, with the option of cutting it short, if the UK Parliament ratifies a deal.

But French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Friday that it was "premature" to consider another delay while French diplomatic sources described Mr Tusk's suggestion as a "clumsy test balloon".

The prime minister wrote to Mr Tusk to request the extension ahead of an EU summit on 10 April, where EU leaders would have to unanimously agree on any plan to delay the UK's departure.

Mrs May has already requested an extension to the end of June but this was rejected at a summit last month.

Instead, she was offered a short delay to 12 April - the date by which the UK must say whether it intends to take part in the European Parliamentary elections - or until 22 May, if UK MPs had approved the withdrawal deal negotiated with the EU. They voted it down for a third time last week.

A Downing Street spokesman said there were "different circumstances now" and the prime minister "has been clear she is seeking a short extension".

Why 30 June?

The 30 June date is significant.

It's the day before the new European Parliament will hold its first session. So the logic is, that it would allow the UK a bit longer to seal a deal - but without the need for British MEPs to take their seats in a parliament that the UK electorate had voted to leave as long ago as 2016.

But, this being Theresa May, it's a plan she has previously proposed - and which has already been rejected.

It's likely the EU will reject it again and offer a longer extension, with the ability to leave earlier if Parliament agrees a deal.

But by asking for a relatively short extension - even if she is unsuccessful - the prime minister will be hoping to escape the ire of some of her Brexit-supporting backbenchers who are champing at the bit to leave.

And she will try to signal to Leave-supporting voters that her choice is to get out of the EU as soon as is practicable - and that a longer extension will be something that is forced upon her, rather than something which she embraces.

In her letter, the prime minister says she would continue to seek the "rapid approval" of the withdrawal agreement and a "shared vision" for the future relationship between the UK and EU.

She said if cross-party talks with the Labour Party could not establish "a single unified approach" in the UK Parliament - MPs would be asked to vote on a series of Brexit options instead which the government "stands ready to abide by", if Labour commits to doing the same.

The UK proposes an extension to the process until 30 June, she wrote, and "accepts the European Council's view that if the United Kingdom were still a member state of the European Union on 23 May 2019, it would be under a legal obligation to hold the elections".

To this end, she says the UK is "undertaking the lawful and responsible preparations for this contingency".

But she suggests the UK should be able to leave earlier, if the UK Parliament approves a withdrawal deal before then, and cancel preparations for the European Parliamentary elections.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels, said any extension granted should be the last and final offer, to maintain the EU's credibility.

Tusk's 'flextension'

You could almost hear the sound of collective eye-rolling across 27 European capitals after Theresa May requested a Brexit extension-time that Brussels has already repeatedly rejected.

Most EU leaders are leaning towards a longer Brexit delay, to avoid being constantly approached by the PM for a rolling series of short extensions, with the threat of a no-deal Brexit always just round the corner.

Donald Tusk believes he has hit on a compromise solution: his "flextension" which would last a year, with the UK able to walk away from it, as soon as Parliament ratifies the Brexit deal.

But EU leaders are not yet singing from the same hymn sheet on this.

Expect closed-door political fireworks - though it's unclear whether it'll be a modest display or an all-out extravaganza - at their emergency Brexit summit next week. Under EU law, they have to hammer out a unanimous position.

Read Katya's blog

Talks between Labour and the Conservatives are continuing on Friday.

Speaking to Labour activists in Newport on Friday, Mr Corbyn said the government "haven't appeared to have changed their opinions very much as yet". He said Labour would push to maintain the UK's "market relationship with Europe", including defending rights and regulations.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK still hoped to leave "in the next couple of months" but it may have "little choice" but to accept a longer delay if Parliament could not agree a solution.

But Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said the EU "should be careful what it wishes for".

"If we have EU elections, it is likely UKIP, Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage will do well," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

Another Tory Eurosceptic, Sir Bernard Jenkin, said he would prefer to stay in the EU for another year than for Britain to accept a "humiliating defeat" of a withdrawal agreement.

The Scottish National Party's Stephen Gethins said that the prime minister's proposal "demonstrates beyond doubt she is putting the interests of her fractured Tory Party above all else".

"It is clear that with the UK Parliament unable to reach a consensus - coupled with everything we now know on the damaging impact Brexit will have on the UK economy, jobs and living standards - it must now be the priority that the issue is brought back to the people in a fresh second EU referendum, with the option to remain on the ballot paper."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47825841

2019-04-06 07:14:00Z
CBMiLWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1wb2xpdGljcy00NzgyNTg0MdIBMWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9hbXAvdWstcG9saXRpY3MtNDc4MjU4NDE

Brexit: UK asks EU for further extension until 30 June - BBC News

Theresa May has written to the European Union to request a further delay to Brexit until 30 June.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 12 April and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by MPs.

The government has been in talks with the Labour Party to try and find a compromise to put to the Commons.

But shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the Tory negotiating team had offered no changes to Mrs May's original deal.

The PM said from the outset she wanted to keep her withdrawal agreement as part of any plan, but was willing to discuss the UK's future relationship with the EU - addressed in the deal's political declaration.

Sir Keir said the government was "not countenancing any change to the actual wording of the political declaration", adding: "Compromise requires change."

The prime minister has proposed that if UK MPs approve a deal in time, the UK should be able to leave before European Parliamentary elections on 23 May.

But she said the UK would prepare to field candidates in those elections in case no agreement is reached.

It is up to the EU whether to grant an extension to Article 50, the legal process through which the UK is leaving the EU, after MPs repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement reached between the UK and the bloc.

'Flexible extension'

The BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler has been told by a senior EU source that European Council President Donald Tusk will propose a 12-month "flexible" extension to Brexit, with the option of cutting it short, if the UK Parliament ratifies a deal.

But French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Friday that it was "premature" to consider another delay while French diplomatic sources described Mr Tusk's suggestion as a "clumsy test balloon".

The prime minister wrote to Mr Tusk to request the extension ahead of an EU summit on 10 April, where EU leaders would have to unanimously agree on any plan to delay the UK's departure.

Mrs May has already requested an extension to the end of June but this was rejected at a summit last month.

Instead, she was offered a short delay to 12 April - the date by which the UK must say whether it intends to take part in the European Parliamentary elections - or until 22 May, if UK MPs had approved the withdrawal deal negotiated with the EU. They voted it down for a third time last week.

A Downing Street spokesman said there were "different circumstances now" and the prime minister "has been clear she is seeking a short extension".

Why 30 June?

The 30 June date is significant.

It's the day before the new European Parliament will hold its first session. So the logic is, that it would allow the UK a bit longer to seal a deal - but without the need for British MEPs to take their seats in a parliament that the UK electorate had voted to leave as long ago as 2016.

But, this being Theresa May, it's a plan she has previously proposed - and which has already been rejected.

It's likely the EU will reject it again and offer a longer extension, with the ability to leave earlier if Parliament agrees a deal.

But by asking for a relatively short extension - even if she is unsuccessful - the prime minister will be hoping to escape the ire of some of her Brexit-supporting backbenchers who are champing at the bit to leave.

And she will try to signal to Leave-supporting voters that her choice is to get out of the EU as soon as is practicable - and that a longer extension will be something that is forced upon her, rather than something which she embraces.

In her letter, the prime minister says she would continue to seek the "rapid approval" of the withdrawal agreement and a "shared vision" for the future relationship between the UK and EU.

She said if cross-party talks with the Labour Party could not establish "a single unified approach" in the UK Parliament - MPs would be asked to vote on a series of Brexit options instead which the government "stands ready to abide by", if Labour commits to doing the same.

The UK proposes an extension to the process until 30 June, she wrote, and "accepts the European Council's view that if the United Kingdom were still a member state of the European Union on 23 May 2019, it would be under a legal obligation to hold the elections".

To this end, she says the UK is "undertaking the lawful and responsible preparations for this contingency".

But she suggests the UK should be able to leave earlier, if the UK Parliament approves a withdrawal deal before then, and cancel preparations for the European Parliamentary elections.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels, said any extension granted should be the last and final offer, to maintain the EU's credibility.

Tusk's 'flextension'

You could almost hear the sound of collective eye-rolling across 27 European capitals after Theresa May requested a Brexit extension-time that Brussels has already repeatedly rejected.

Most EU leaders are leaning towards a longer Brexit delay, to avoid being constantly approached by the PM for a rolling series of short extensions, with the threat of a no-deal Brexit always just round the corner.

Donald Tusk believes he has hit on a compromise solution: his "flextension" which would last a year, with the UK able to walk away from it, as soon as Parliament ratifies the Brexit deal.

But EU leaders are not yet singing from the same hymn sheet on this.

Expect closed-door political fireworks - though it's unclear whether it'll be a modest display or an all-out extravaganza - at their emergency Brexit summit next week. Under EU law, they have to hammer out a unanimous position.

Read Katya's blog

Talks between Labour and the Conservatives are continuing on Friday.

Speaking to Labour activists in Newport on Friday, Mr Corbyn said the government "haven't appeared to have changed their opinions very much as yet". He said Labour would push to maintain the UK's "market relationship with Europe", including defending rights and regulations.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK still hoped to leave "in the next couple of months" but it may have "little choice" but to accept a longer delay if Parliament could not agree a solution.

But Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said the EU "should be careful what it wishes for".

"If we have EU elections, it is likely UKIP, Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage will do well," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

Another Tory Eurosceptic, Sir Bernard Jenkin, said he would prefer to stay in the EU for another year than for Britain to accept a "humiliating defeat" of a withdrawal agreement.

The Scottish National Party's Stephen Gethins said that the prime minister's proposal "demonstrates beyond doubt she is putting the interests of her fractured Tory Party above all else".

"It is clear that with the UK Parliament unable to reach a consensus - coupled with everything we now know on the damaging impact Brexit will have on the UK economy, jobs and living standards - it must now be the priority that the issue is brought back to the people in a fresh second EU referendum, with the option to remain on the ballot paper."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47825841

2019-04-06 04:51:43Z
CBMiLWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1wb2xpdGljcy00NzgyNTg0MdIBMWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9hbXAvdWstcG9saXRpY3MtNDc4MjU4NDE

Brexit: UK asks EU for further extension until 30 June - BBC News

Theresa May has written to the European Union to request a further delay to Brexit until 30 June.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 12 April and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by MPs.

The government has been in talks with the Labour Party to try and find a compromise to put to the Commons.

But shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the Tory negotiating team had offered no changes to Mrs May's original deal.

The PM said from the outset she wanted to keep her withdrawal agreement as part of any plan, but was willing to discuss the UK's future relationship with the EU - addressed in the deal's political declaration.

Sir Keir said the government was "not countenancing any change to the actual wording of the political declaration", adding: "Compromise requires change."

The prime minister has proposed that if UK MPs approve a deal in time, the UK should be able to leave before European Parliamentary elections on 23 May.

But she said the UK would prepare to field candidates in those elections in case no agreement is reached.

It is up to the EU whether to grant an extension to Article 50, the legal process through which the UK is leaving the EU, after MPs repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement reached between the UK and the bloc.

'Flexible extension'

The BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler has been told by a senior EU source that European Council President Donald Tusk will propose a 12-month "flexible" extension to Brexit, with the option of cutting it short, if the UK Parliament ratifies a deal.

But French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Friday that it was "premature" to consider another delay while French diplomatic sources described Mr Tusk's suggestion as a "clumsy test balloon".

The prime minister wrote to Mr Tusk to request the extension ahead of an EU summit on 10 April, where EU leaders would have to unanimously agree on any plan to delay the UK's departure.

Mrs May has already requested an extension to the end of June but this was rejected at a summit last month.

Instead, she was offered a short delay to 12 April - the date by which the UK must say whether it intends to take part in the European Parliamentary elections - or until 22 May, if UK MPs had approved the withdrawal deal negotiated with the EU. They voted it down for a third time last week.

A Downing Street spokesman said there were "different circumstances now" and the prime minister "has been clear she is seeking a short extension".

Why 30 June?

The 30 June date is significant.

It's the day before the new European Parliament will hold its first session. So the logic is, that it would allow the UK a bit longer to seal a deal - but without the need for British MEPs to take their seats in a parliament that the UK electorate had voted to leave as long ago as 2016.

But, this being Theresa May, it's a plan she has previously proposed - and which has already been rejected.

It's likely the EU will reject it again and offer a longer extension, with the ability to leave earlier if Parliament agrees a deal.

But by asking for a relatively short extension - even if she is unsuccessful - the prime minister will be hoping to escape the ire of some of her Brexit-supporting backbenchers who are champing at the bit to leave.

And she will try to signal to Leave-supporting voters that her choice is to get out of the EU as soon as is practicable - and that a longer extension will be something that is forced upon her, rather than something which she embraces.

In her letter, the prime minister says she would continue to seek the "rapid approval" of the withdrawal agreement and a "shared vision" for the future relationship between the UK and EU.

She said if cross-party talks with the Labour Party could not establish "a single unified approach" in the UK Parliament - MPs would be asked to vote on a series of Brexit options instead which the government "stands ready to abide by", if Labour commits to doing the same.

The UK proposes an extension to the process until 30 June, she wrote, and "accepts the European Council's view that if the United Kingdom were still a member state of the European Union on 23 May 2019, it would be under a legal obligation to hold the elections".

To this end, she says the UK is "undertaking the lawful and responsible preparations for this contingency".

But she suggests the UK should be able to leave earlier, if the UK Parliament approves a withdrawal deal before then, and cancel preparations for the European Parliamentary elections.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels, said any extension granted should be the last and final offer, to maintain the EU's credibility.

Tusk's 'flextension'

You could almost hear the sound of collective eye-rolling across 27 European capitals after Theresa May requested a Brexit extension-time that Brussels has already repeatedly rejected.

Most EU leaders are leaning towards a longer Brexit delay, to avoid being constantly approached by the PM for a rolling series of short extensions, with the threat of a no-deal Brexit always just round the corner.

Donald Tusk believes he has hit on a compromise solution: his "flextension" which would last a year, with the UK able to walk away from it, as soon as Parliament ratifies the Brexit deal.

But EU leaders are not yet singing from the same hymn sheet on this.

Expect closed-door political fireworks - though it's unclear whether it'll be a modest display or an all-out extravaganza - at their emergency Brexit summit next week. Under EU law, they have to hammer out a unanimous position.

Read Katya's blog

Talks between Labour and the Conservatives are continuing on Friday.

Speaking to Labour activists in Newport on Friday, Mr Corbyn said the government "haven't appeared to have changed their opinions very much as yet". He said Labour would push to maintain the UK's "market relationship with Europe", including defending rights and regulations.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK still hoped to leave "in the next couple of months" but it may have "little choice" but to accept a longer delay if Parliament could not agree a solution.

But Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said the EU "should be careful what it wishes for".

"If we have EU elections, it is likely UKIP, Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage will do well," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

Another Tory Eurosceptic, Sir Bernard Jenkin, said he would prefer to stay in the EU for another year than for Britain to accept a "humiliating defeat" of a withdrawal agreement.

The Scottish National Party's Stephen Gethins said that the prime minister's proposal "demonstrates beyond doubt she is putting the interests of her fractured Tory Party above all else".

"It is clear that with the UK Parliament unable to reach a consensus - coupled with everything we now know on the damaging impact Brexit will have on the UK economy, jobs and living standards - it must now be the priority that the issue is brought back to the people in a fresh second EU referendum, with the option to remain on the ballot paper."

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2019-04-06 03:52:36Z
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Brexit: UK asks EU for further extension until 30 June - BBC News

Theresa May has written to the European Union to request a further delay to Brexit until 30 June.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 12 April and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by MPs.

The government has been in talks with the Labour Party to try and find a compromise to put to the Commons.

But shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the Tory negotiating team had offered no changes to Mrs May's original deal.

The PM said from the outset she wanted to keep her withdrawal agreement as part of any plan, but was willing to discuss the UK's future relationship with the EU - addressed in the deal's political declaration.

Sir Keir said the government was "not countenancing any change to the actual wording of the political declaration", adding: "Compromise requires change."

The prime minister has proposed that if UK MPs approve a deal in time, the UK should be able to leave before European Parliamentary elections on 23 May.

But she said the UK would prepare to field candidates in those elections in case no agreement is reached.

It is up to the EU whether to grant an extension to Article 50, the legal process through which the UK is leaving the EU, after MPs repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement reached between the UK and the bloc.

'Flexible extension'

The BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler has been told by a senior EU source that European Council President Donald Tusk will propose a 12-month "flexible" extension to Brexit, with the option of cutting it short, if the UK Parliament ratifies a deal.

But French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Friday that it was "premature" to consider another delay while French diplomatic sources described Mr Tusk's suggestion as a "clumsy test balloon".

The prime minister wrote to Mr Tusk to request the extension ahead of an EU summit on 10 April, where EU leaders would have to unanimously agree on any plan to delay the UK's departure.

Mrs May has already requested an extension to the end of June but this was rejected at a summit last month.

Instead, she was offered a short delay to 12 April - the date by which the UK must say whether it intends to take part in the European Parliamentary elections - or until 22 May, if UK MPs had approved the withdrawal deal negotiated with the EU. They voted it down for a third time last week.

A Downing Street spokesman said there were "different circumstances now" and the prime minister "has been clear she is seeking a short extension".

Why 30 June?

The 30 June date is significant.

It's the day before the new European Parliament will hold its first session. So the logic is, that it would allow the UK a bit longer to seal a deal - but without the need for British MEPs to take their seats in a parliament that the UK electorate had voted to leave as long ago as 2016.

But, this being Theresa May, it's a plan she has previously proposed - and which has already been rejected.

It's likely the EU will reject it again and offer a longer extension, with the ability to leave earlier if Parliament agrees a deal.

But by asking for a relatively short extension - even if she is unsuccessful - the prime minister will be hoping to escape the ire of some of her Brexit-supporting backbenchers who are champing at the bit to leave.

And she will try to signal to Leave-supporting voters that her choice is to get out of the EU as soon as is practicable - and that a longer extension will be something that is forced upon her, rather than something which she embraces.

In her letter, the prime minister says she would continue to seek the "rapid approval" of the withdrawal agreement and a "shared vision" for the future relationship between the UK and EU.

She said if cross-party talks with the Labour Party could not establish "a single unified approach" in the UK Parliament - MPs would be asked to vote on a series of Brexit options instead which the government "stands ready to abide by", if Labour commits to doing the same.

The UK proposes an extension to the process until 30 June, she wrote, and "accepts the European Council's view that if the United Kingdom were still a member state of the European Union on 23 May 2019, it would be under a legal obligation to hold the elections".

To this end, she says the UK is "undertaking the lawful and responsible preparations for this contingency".

But she suggests the UK should be able to leave earlier, if the UK Parliament approves a withdrawal deal before then, and cancel preparations for the European Parliamentary elections.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels, said any extension granted should be the last and final offer, to maintain the EU's credibility.

Tusk's 'flextension'

You could almost hear the sound of collective eye-rolling across 27 European capitals after Theresa May requested a Brexit extension-time that Brussels has already repeatedly rejected.

Most EU leaders are leaning towards a longer Brexit delay, to avoid being constantly approached by the PM for a rolling series of short extensions, with the threat of a no-deal Brexit always just round the corner.

Donald Tusk believes he has hit on a compromise solution: his "flextension" which would last a year, with the UK able to walk away from it, as soon as Parliament ratifies the Brexit deal.

But EU leaders are not yet singing from the same hymn sheet on this.

Expect closed-door political fireworks - though it's unclear whether it'll be a modest display or an all-out extravaganza - at their emergency Brexit summit next week. Under EU law, they have to hammer out a unanimous position.

Read Katya's blog

Talks between Labour and the Conservatives are continuing on Friday.

Speaking to Labour activists in Newport on Friday, Mr Corbyn said the government "haven't appeared to have changed their opinions very much as yet". He said Labour would push to maintain the UK's "market relationship with Europe", including defending rights and regulations.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK still hoped to leave "in the next couple of months" but it may have "little choice" but to accept a longer delay if Parliament could not agree a solution.

But Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said the EU "should be careful what it wishes for".

"If we have EU elections, it is likely UKIP, Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage will do well," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

Another Tory Eurosceptic, Sir Bernard Jenkin, said he would prefer to stay in the EU for another year than for Britain to accept a "humiliating defeat" of a withdrawal agreement.

The Scottish National Party's Stephen Gethins said that the prime minister's proposal "demonstrates beyond doubt she is putting the interests of her fractured Tory Party above all else".

"It is clear that with the UK Parliament unable to reach a consensus - coupled with everything we now know on the damaging impact Brexit will have on the UK economy, jobs and living standards - it must now be the priority that the issue is brought back to the people in a fresh second EU referendum, with the option to remain on the ballot paper."

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2019-04-06 02:42:37Z
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