May Faces Standoff With EU Over Terms of Delay: Brexit Update

Mar 21 2019, 11:04 AMMar 21 2019, 12:03 PMMarch 21 2019, 11:04 AMMarch 21 2019, 12:03 PM

(Bloomberg) -- Theresa May heads to the European Council meeting in Brussels to push her demand for a one-off, three-month delay to Brexit -- something her EU counterparts have already said she can’t have unless Parliament ratifies the divorce deal. Her government plans to put it to another vote next week.

Key Developments:

May pitches her delay to 27 other EU leaders this afternoon; prime minister is expected to give press conference this evening
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is also due to travel to Brussels to make the case for an alternative to May’s plan
Andrea Leadsom said government plans to put deal to another vote next week

Leadsom: Can’t Legislate to Stop No-Deal Brexit (11:30 a.m.)

Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom told lawmakers it isn’t possible to pass a law to rule out a no-deal Brexit.

“You can’t legislate to take no deal off the table,” Leadsom said. “This House has already rejected a customs union, a second referendum, a no-deal Brexit; it’s rejected the prime minister’s deal. The House has said a lot about what it doesn’t want to do. What it needs to do is to say what it does want to do.”

She also urged MPs to back the prime minister’s deal -- which she said “really is having our cake and eating it.”

Leadsom: Parliament to Vote on Deal Next Week (11:10 a.m.)

Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom confirmed to lawmakers that on Monday there will be a debate on an amendable motion on Brexit, and that the government still intends to put its Brexit deal to a third meaningful vote.

She said the timing of that will be subject to the outcome of this week’s EU summit, and that she’ll make a further timetabling statement when she is able.

DUP Not Yet Persuaded to Back May’s Deal (11 a.m.)

DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson suggested Theresa May’s effort to win the party’s support for her Brexit deal are bearing little fruit. He told RTE radio that the Northern Irish party -- which props up May’s government -- is no closer to backing the agreement, and said the prime minister is trying to shift the blame to politicians for her failure to win Parliament’s support.

Verhofstadt: Impossible to Extend Beyond May 23 (10:30 a.m.)

European Parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt said the view of the assembly is that any extension of the Brexit process should not go beyond the bloc’s legislative elections slated for May 23-26.

“The message of the European Parliament is that it’s impossible to have an extension beyond May 23,” Verhofstadt told reporters in Brussels on Thursday. A delay later than the European Union ballot “that would create an enormous problem,” he said.

“It’s time we conclude this whole negotiation,” Verhofstadt said. “We don’t want in the coming months, coming years to be busy with Brexit; we want to be busy with the renewal of the European Union.”

Merkel Opens Door to May’s Delay (Earlier)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated she’s ready to support Theresa May’s request to delay the U.K.’s departure from the European Union, vowing to fight to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

“We will do everything we can in the few remaining days to make sure we achieve an orderly Brexit,” Merkel said in a speech to Germany’s lower house of parliament.

Hunt Defends May’s Tone (Earlier)

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said May’s statement Wednesday night reflected her “frustration” at the Brexit process, adding that members of Parliament need to get behind her deal or face “extreme unpredictability.”

“We should not forget the extreme pressure she’s been under and she does feel a sense of frustration,” Hunt said in a BBC radio interview. “No prime minister in recent years has been tested in the way she has.”

Options are limited if Parliament refuses to ratify the Brexit deal this week, Hunt said. MPs could vote to revoke Article 50, the EU could grant an extension with conditions attached, or there could be a no-deal Brexit. “So the choice that we have now is one of resolving this issue or extreme unpredictability,” he said.

Hunt also said politicians in a hung Parliament “have a special responsibility, because a decision cannot happen without Parliament giving it approval.” The comment was quickly criticized by lawmakers on Twitter.