On Tuesday 22 January, the Commission urged the British government “to clarify its intentions as soon as possible” towards the EU and warned that an exit scenario without an agreement would necessarily involve returning to a “physical border” on the island of Ireland.
Spokesman Margaritis Schinas spoke the day after British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech to her Parliament (see EUROPE 12176) in which she indicated that she would continue to speak with all political forces, in particular about the Irish safety net, and that she would then immediately present the conclusions of her discussions to the EU.
Member State ambassadors meeting in ‘Article 50’ format are expected to continue discussing preparations for an exit scenario without agreement on Wednesday 23 January. At the European Parliament on Tuesday 22 January, Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt also announced that Parliament would decide on emergency measures in early March. A debate was held in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs on developments in the United Kingdom after the rejection of the agreement concluded on 25 November with the Twenty-Seven (see EUROPE 12172) and gave rise to mixed opinions, with several MEPs saying they were open to an extension of Article 50 to break the deadlock and others saying, on the contrary, that they were very sceptical about this possibility.
The Brexit coordinator decided that it would be possible to extend Article 50, but not beyond 2 July, the first day of the new European Parliament's session. Other MEPs, such as Pascal Durand (Greens/EFA, France) and Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France), wanted to stick to the exit date of 29 March, as a postponement could open up other issues. For the EPP politician, an extension could only be granted for a serious and major reason in the United Kingdom; otherwise, “the whole EU will catch the British gangrene”. On the content, in any case, the Belgian coordinator followed the line established by Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator for Brexit, by ruling out renegotiating the Irish safety net, although he opened the door to a possible discussion with London on the future relationship. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)