Dive Brief:
- After months of failed votes to approve her Brexit plan, British Prime Minister Theresa May obtained yet another extension to the deadline for the U.K. to leave the European Union. The new deadline, granted by the EU, is Oct. 31. If the U.K. can approve a plan and the EU can support it, the break could take place earlier than the deadline.
- "Please do not waste this time," said European Council President Donald Tusk, according to the BBC.
- The note from the General Secretariat of the European Council to the British delegation detailing the extension stipulates that negotiations will not be reopened.
Dive Insight:
The options on the table have not changed, but laying out such a long window does complicate matters. EU parliamentary elections are in May and if the U.K. has not approved a plan by May 22, it must elect new members to the EU parliament. If it fails to do this, the U.K. will be forced out of the Union on June 1.
May had planned to step down from her position as Prime Minister if her withdrawal agreement was passed. According to the Guardian that pledge still stands and it may be difficult to oust her since she survived a no-confidence vote in October, which mean she cannot be similarly challenged again for one year. This morning, multiple MPs called for May's resignation.
Her task now, as it has been for months, is to get MPs to vote for the withdrawal deal on the table.
