After the United Kingdom’s government failed to ratify an exit deal before the original deadline for Brexit on March 29, they received an extension until April 12 to get it done. With yet another failure, Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to ask for one more extension, which was finally granted last night.
At yesterday’s emergency Brexit summit of European leaders in Brussels it was decided to give the United Kingdom another six months, i.e. until October 31, to get a deal successfully through Parliament. This extension is shorter than the original 1-year proposal by Donald Tusk, and longer than Theresa May’s request, which was a deadline until June 30. Meeting in the middle, the two sides agreed to grant the six-month extension. It comes with two special conditions. Firstly, if the UK Parliament manages to approve a deal before the deadline, Brexit could happen instantly, so the United Kingdom could leave with a deal even before October. Secondly, if the United Kingdom fails to participate in European Parliamentary elections on May 23, they will leave the EU without a deal on June 1.
Right now optimism about Brexit is tied to Theresa May succeeding in her joint negotiations with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and reaching a compromise that could find support in Parliament. If the Conservative and the Labour parties fail to find a middle ground, however, there could be more uncertainty in the future, as the United Kingdom might be forced into early general elections and a change of leadership.
