The ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven met on Wednesday 23 October in the late afternoon to discuss the extension of the period of Article 50 of the EU Treaty, after British MPs indicated on Tuesday 22 October that it would be almost impossible for the United Kingdom to leave the EU on 31 October (see EUROPE 12354/11).
However, they had not yet taken a decision and had to give themselves until Friday 25 October to decide between a new 3-month extension, as stipulated in the Benn Act, a British law that forced Boris Johnson to request a postponement, or to grant a shorter technical extension. The other option that was circulating, according to the British media, was that, without unanimous agreement on this extension issue, a new Summit would be convened on Monday 28 October. According to some diplomats, however, the probability of a new Summit remained “very low” on Wednesday afternoon, with the next steps dependent on the ambassadors’ discussion.
More specifically, on Wednesday, the Permanent Representatives discussed the recommendation made by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, during the previous evening, to accept the request for an extension sent over the weekend by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and to do so by written procedure. The request from Boris Johnson reiterated the constraints of the Benn Act, according to which the extension was to last until 31 January 2020. This is the extension period for which Donald Tusk began consultations with the leaders of the Twenty-Seven.
The Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, indicated in the middle of the day, after discussions with Donald Tusk, that he is in favour of an extension until 31 January 2020. For his part, European Parliament President David Sassoli expressed his institution’s position supporting an additional three months’ extension, even though it plays no role in whether or not to grant a new extension.
That said, the issue is even more complex: Paris is rejecting a three-month postponement without cause and considers that an extension makes sense only to finalise the procedural aspects of ratification and under no circumstances to allow time to reopen the agreement negotiated on 17 October.
In London in recent days, the Prime Minister has repeatedly said that he would call general elections by Christmas if the Twenty-Seven granted a three-month extension, because the British leader prefers a relatively short technical extension... A clear answer from London on this point is in any case expected by Friday. Several options are indeed possible: in the event of a short extension, the British Prime Minister could resume consideration of the draft agreement quickly, perhaps next week. However, there is another parameter to be managed: to what extent will the British Parliament be able to amend the draft? And will it be necessary to circle back to Brussels? These points need to be cleared up between now and Friday. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)