What the British Parliament should do to postpone Brexit

Theresa May He returned from a summit in Brussels after receiving a Brexit extension for at least two weeks. However, the UK legislation still states that the departure of the European Union must be finalized next Friday.

Here's what to do to change the date:

The exit from Britain is enshrined in the European Union's withdrawal law, approved earlier this year, which states that the "day of departure" is 29 March 2019 at 11 am, ie at midnight. United Kingdom, Britain announced in an official letter its intention to withdraw from the bloc.

The same law provides that a Minister may amend "by regulation" this date. This probably corresponds to Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay. He or another minister submits secondary legislation, known as a statutory instrument, to Parliament. The rules state that this must be done the day before the vote. The deadline is therefore theoretically no later than Thursday, March 28th.

The drafting of the instrument is complicated by the fact that ministers still do not know the day the UK will leave the EU. Indeed, the bloc has agreed to postpone the Brexit to May 22 if it can convince Parliament to approve the divorce agreement next week. If you do not, Britain will only have until April 12 to decide to leave without a pact or to ask for a much longer extension.

"Obviously, there are two possible dates and we will have to discuss with the legislative team how best to move the statutory instruments forward," May's spokesman James Slack told reporters on Friday.

The parliamentary vote on the agreement to be held next week, probably Tuesday or Wednesday, will clarify the new date.

Once submitted, the instrument will be reviewed by a committee composed of representatives of the House of Commons. The group of experts would study it during a debate not to last more than 90 minutes, after which a vote could take place.

The result of this exercise is not binding. Therefore, the government would schedule votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Once both chambers have given the green light, the instrument can be signed by a minister and become law.