EU leaders will sign off on a Brexit extension to 31 January 2020, with an option for Britain to leave earlier if a deal can be ratified, according to a draft of the agreement leaked to The Guardian.
The paper, circulated to member states, says the UK would be able to leave on the first day of the month after a deal is ratified. The document also states that the EU will not renegotiate the withdrawal agreement.
One possible problem for Boris Johnson is that the paper also says the UK has “an obligation” to nominate a candidate to join the European commission. The PM has previously insisted that “under no circumstances” will he nominate anyone to take over from Julian King when the new commission takes office on 1 November.
Delayed decision
EU leaders had been expected to announce their decision on Friday, but the French ambassador blocked the extension. France’s EU minister Amelie de Montchalin told French television on Sunday: “We cannot give extra time based on political fiction. We need to have certainty in order to decide [on an extension], certainty about ratification, about elections or about a second referendum.”
The PM has told MPs he will give them more time to scrutinise and debate the Brexit deal he agreed with the EU on 21 October, if they grant him an election after Brexit and before Christmas. MPs will vote later on whether to support Johnson’s call for a general election on 12 December.
A draft document seen by Reuters said the delay would be granted “with the view to allowing for the finalisation of the ratification” of the withdrawal agreement as quickly as possible – leading to what has been called a flexible extension or “flextension”.
If no extension is approved, the UK will leave the EU on Thursday without a deal, but this is not considered likely at this stage.
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