Brexit is the moving at rapid-fire pace this week as Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Government attempt to deliver an acceptable Brexit deal to the EU and to Parliament to enable Britain to leave the EU by the deadline. The highly anticipated EU summit will begin on Thursday in Brussels. But why is this EU meeting so crucial for Britain’s exit from the European Union?
When is the EU summit?
The EU summit begins on Thursday, October 17, in Brussels.
The 28 current members of the European Union will meet to discuss Brexit, the EU enlargement, Turkey, the Long-term EU budget and the strategic agenda and next institutional cycle.
The first Council meeting will begin at midday on Thursday and will be followed by another European Council meeting taking place at 9am on Friday.
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Throughout the EU Summit, Mr Johnson is attempting to get the agreement signed off by all the member states so that he can put the deal to Parliament in the hopes that it can be signed into law by the deadline on October 31.
The two-day EU summit is crucial because, under legislation passed last month, the Benn Act, the PM must get a new deal approved by MPs by Saturday or must ask for an extension to the deadline.
The UK is due to leave the EU at 11pm GMT on October 31 and to sign a withdrawal agreement into law by that time, the deal would need to be approved by Saturday at the latest.
If Mr Johnson does not get an agreement signed off by the EU and UK by the end of the summit on Friday afternoon he will be required to ask for a deadline extension.
If negotiations are not finalised tonight, they will spill over into next week, culminating in an emergency summit on October 28 or 29.
This EU summit is paramount to ensure Mr Johnson does not break his “do or die” promise to ensure the UK leaves the EU by October 31.
All of the 27 EU countries must agree to the deal or it will not be approved and therefore it will not be agreed ahead of the Brexit deadline at the end of October.
Sources suggest that a new Brexit deal text is almost ready but they are just waiting to see if the UK will agree to the deal.
If the text is ready, it can be approved by EU leaders, but it may follow the journey of Theresa May’s previous withdrawal deal which was repeatedly rejected by the House of Commons.
The fear is, if a new Brexit text meets the same fate, the British government will return to Brussels asking for more concessions forcing either a no deal Brexit or Mr Johnson to ask for a deadline extension.