(Bloomberg) --

Theresa May meets her German and French counterparts to seek backing for a short Brexit extension, as talks with the Labour Party on ending the impasse at home continue. The EU is looking at ways to make sure that a delay won’t allow May -- or any successor -- to disrupt its business.

Read more: May to Meet Merkel and Macron as Furious Tories Try to Oust Her

Key Developments:

• May meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday
• Justice Secretary David Gauke says there’s “common ground” in talks with Labour, but reiterates May’s opposition to a second referendum
• EU ministers meet Tuesday; focus now is on the length of any delay and the conditions attached to it

Leadsom Calls on Merkel to Resolve Backstop (9:30 a.m.)

Pro-Brexit Cabinet member Andrea Leadsom called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to re-open the EU Withdrawal Agreement in order to solve the issue of the backstop, despite repeated EU assertions that it won’t happen.

“What I think would be fantastic is if Angela Merkel will try to support a proper U.K. Brexit by agreeing to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement,” Leadsom told Sky News on Tuesday. “There have been rumors over the weekend that some senior members of the German government would be willing to do that to get Theresa May’s deal over the line.”

By announcing she will quit once her Brexit deal is through Parliament, May has started the race to find her successor. That means potential candidates are trying to sound appealing to the largely euroskeptic Tory Party membership.

McDonnell: Referendum Still Up for Discussion (9:20 a.m.)

Sky News interviewed Labour’s Treasury spokesman John McDonnell on his way to work this morning. Despite Justice Secretary David Gauke’s remarks (see 8:25 a.m.) on a second referendum, McDonnell -- who is joining the cross-party talks today -- said he expects a so-called people’s vote or confirmatory referendum on the Brexit deal to be part of the discussions.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will also join the talks today.

Gauke: May Opposes People’s Vote on Deal (8:25 a.m.)

Justice Secretary David Gauke repeated during his media round this morning that members of Parliament will have an opportunity to amend the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to legislate for a second referendum.

It’s a clear indication that as the Conservatives and Labour go into further talks today, May is unwilling to compromise in favor of a confirmatory vote on the Brexit deal -- an idea opposed by the majority of Tories but which has backing from some Labour MPs and especially the party membership.

The prime minister has made clear she doesn’t want another referendum, Gauke said on BBC Radio 4.

May Must Bring Clarity, Says France (8 a.m.)

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said May must present “credible” reasons for extending the departure when she comes to visit President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday.

“I prefer a deal, but May must give reasons for an extension and those reasons must be credible,” he told France Info radio. May must “bring to the President, and to the French people, clear explanations if asking for an extension.”

A long delay could bring a “grotesque situation in which a state that wants to leave the EU holds the May EU elections. You can see the surreal aspect of this decision.” May agrees and is trying to get out so the U.K. doesn’t have to take part.

Justice Secretary Sees Common Ground (7:30 a.m.)

U.K. Cabinet minister David Gauke, a Remainer, said there is common ground between the government and Labour on what it wants the post-Brexit trading relationship with the EU to look like.

“There are differences between the parties, and we need to see if we can resolve those differences,” he told the BBC.

“There is common ground in terms of with our trading relationship with the European Union -- we don’t want tariffs, we don’t want to have quotas, we don’t want to have rules of origin requirements. Now I think both parties agree with that so that is an area where there is common ground.”

What he has described sounds a lot like a customs union. Labour complained on Monday that a customs union still wasn’t on the table and the government’s official line is that it still wants an independent trade policy, which a customs union wouldn’t allow.

Earlier:

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