Brexit: Parliament supports request to delay departure date

According to the motion presented by the executive, it is "accepted that the government is seeking an agreement with the European Union" to delay the date on which the UK should leave the bloc, fixed up here March 29th.

Before the vote, May had herself explained that the extension could be of two types: short or long. In order to avoid a chaotic exit from the EU, British MPs supported the motion asking the government to request an extension of the negotiation period until June 30 if Parliament approves a pact on the Brexit before March 20th and more. if there is no agreement.

In the second case, says the text, the United Kingdom should justify to its 27 other European partners the "goal" of the extension and, where appropriate, the country should attend the European elections to be held between 23 and January 23rd. May 26

The EU reaffirmed that if London pleaded for further negotiations, by extending Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, it had to explain the reason, how it was considering agreeing on a proposal to the majority in Parliament and what kind of relationship she would like to have once with the EU out.

However, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, today said that during his pre-European Council talks of 21 and 22 March he would ask the leaders of the community to accept a "long" extension if the UK decided to rethink its strategy. , reported the news agency.

For the moment, the European Commission has declared "take note" of the result of the vote on Thursday and recalled that it was up to its 27 European partners to accept "unanimously" the postponement, in taking into account the "reasons" and the "duration" of the mandate. idem

The next European summit is scheduled for 21 and 22 March in Brussels. Therefore, the proposal of the head of the British government that the third vote on the agreement to be held the day before is not trivial.

The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, had already warned Thursday morning that if the United Kingdom wanted a "long" extension, he had to "rethink his strategy for Brexit" and create "a consensus around that".