British Prime Minister Theresa May and the Twenty-seven agreed on a 'flexible' extension of the Article 50 period until 31 October 2019 during the night of Wednesday 10 to Thursday 11 April, with a mid-term review of progress agreed at the June European Council. The objective is to avoid a no-deal exit as far as it is possible.
This date of 31 October corresponds in theory to the date on which the new Commission takes office, which should therefore in principle no longer have a British member.
It is halfway between the wishes of some countries to have a short extension - before 30 June - and the desire of some to extend it until March 2020.
This six-month extension will in any case only be valid if the United Kingdom organises, as agreed, the European elections in May. Without elections and without an approved agreement in the House of Commons by that date, the United Kingdom will have to leave the EU by 1 June, according to the adopted text. But if the country adopts and ratifies the withdrawal agreement during these six months, it will leave on the first day of the following month.
During these "additional six months", the ball will therefore be "entirely in the hands of the United Kingdom" , which will still be able to "ratify" the withdrawal agreement or "reconsider" the Brexit process and even "revoke Article 50", explained the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, at the end of the meeting.
In theory, Mr Tusk's intention is that there will be "no discussion" at the June Summit, but simply information given to the Twenty-seven to assess the political process in the United Kingdom and the progress of ratification.
It was also agreed, in the terms of the conditions for this extension, that the Twenty-seven will be able to meet more often in the forming of Article 50, even though they will have some important deadlines by next October, such as the appointment of the future heads of the European Commission.
Recalling in their conclusions that the United Kingdom has already committed itself to show sincere cooperation, which is "a basic principle of our European treaties", according to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the Twenty-seven nevertheless called on London to facilitate the objectives of the remaining Member States and to restrict itself to taking decisions that could hinder the EU's functioning and decision-making autonomy. A risk that Donald Tusk does not anticipate, who has ensured that he "has complete confidence" in Theresa May to ensure that this sincere cooperation is maintained. In the meantime, nothing will prevent the United Kingdom from voting, as it will remain a full member.
The Twenty-seven divided
The Twenty-seven reached this compromise at the end of a rather heated meeting, perhaps marked for the first time by real differences of opinion between some Member States, France in particular having fought for a long time to obtain a shorter extension until 30 June, but having found itself relatively isolated.
Supported by a small handful of countries such as Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus or Austria, according to a diplomatic source, France has not been able to reverse the vision defended by 17 other countries, including the Netherlands or Germany and its Chancellor, Angela Merkel, for whom a fairly long extension period would have a repulsive effect on the "Brexiters" and would therefore encourage them more quickly to support the withdrawal agreement.
The principle of a long extension was supported by the President of the European Council. For Mr Tusk, the unity of the Twenty-seven is not necessarily broken. "Unity does not mean that everyone has an identical position", the essential being, according to him, preserved with "common conclusions".
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, a good compromise has finally been reached. This date of 31 October is intended to "ensure that, when the next European Commission takes office, we will have dealt with the subject". "And we will have a meeting point at the European Council in June. This means that it is now up to the British first to be clear with themselves and their people", he said.
Asked about his hesitations, which some leaders reportedly linked to his internal political problems (the yellow vest crisis), the French president explained that "there were temptations to go very far in granting deadlines. In my opinion, it was not respecting the British vote, but rather locking them into membership".
The Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, confirmed that he felt closer to the French position. "We were of the opinion that a brief extension of the deadline would make sense in order to not go too far in the whole Brexit debate". "The disadvantage is that Britain is likely to participate in the European elections. And on the positive side, if an orderly exit is obtained by then, the work of the new Commission can begin without Britain and without this obstacle", added the Chancellor, considering it "desirable, of course, that Britain should achieve an earlier result".
Angela Merkel, who was in favour of a longer extension, considered that the unity of the Twenty-seven had been preserved and that the risk of disruption of the EU's functioning was limited. "The British Prime Minister said that her country has rights and duties and will respect them as long as it is in the EU. We said that this is what we expect", she said. For Mrs Merkel, it is certain that "the United Kingdom will try to find an agreement for an orderly exit".
An exit as soon as possible
The main stakeholder, Theresa May, confirmed that this remains her objective. "I still believe that we must leave the EU with an agreement as soon as possible", she commented as she left the meeting. "The EU agreed that the extension could be terminated once the agreement is ratified, which was my main request for my counterparts", she said. "If we are able to vote on the agreement in the first three weeks of May, we will not have to participate in the European elections and we will officially leave the EU on Saturday 1 June", the Prime Minister also confirmed.
However, Ms May admitted that she was aware that the next few weeks will not necessarily be "easy or that there is an easy way to unblock the situation in Parliament, but we have a duty, as politicians, to find a way to follow the democratic decision of the referendum, to achieve Brexit and to move our country forward. Nothing is more pressing or vital than that".
To see the decision: https://bit.ly/2IsHRbZ and the conclusions: https://bit.ly/2G7OjlS (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and the editorial staff)