EU: Thrash out Brexit in six months

London, April 11

It is neither as short as British Prime Minister Theresa May had hoped for - until June 30, or as long as some EU leaders were in favour of, but after hours of deliberation in Brussels, the 28-member economic bloc gave the UK six more months to thrash out Brexit.

The latest extension, being dubbed a “Brextension” and also drawing inevitable Halloween analogies with the date coinciding with the festival celebrating scary and nightmare scenarios, comes just a day before the April 12 deadline from the first extension agreed by the European Union (EU) to the official Brexit Day of March 29.

“Vitally, the EU has agreed that the extension can be terminated when the Withdrawal Agreement has been ratified — which was my key request of my fellow leaders,” May said in a statement on Thursday at the end of a European Council summit. “I know that there is huge frustration from many people that I had to request this extension. The UK should have left the EU by now and I sincerely regret the fact that I have not yet been able to persuade Parliament to approve a deal which would allow the UK to leave in a smooth and orderly way,” she said. — PTI