British Prime Minister Theresa May asked the European Union Wednesday to delay Britain’s exit from the 28-nation bloc for three months, until June 30, VOA reports.
Britain had been set to carry out its Brexit plan and split from the EU on March 29, but parliament has been unable in a string of votes to agree on the terms of its departure. Lawmakers have been debating details of everyday passage at the border between EU member Ireland and London-controlled Northern Ireland, along with trade issues.
Any delay in Brexit needs approval from the remaining 27 EU nations, who are meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Britain’s negotiations with the EU have already lasted for more than two years.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU is not open to further negotiations and is unlikely to decide this week whether to give Britain the extension it wants.
So far, Britain’s House of Commons has emphatically rejected the terms British and EU negotiators reached, while also turning down Brexit without terms of a deal in place.
Juncker told Germany’s Deutschlandfunk radio that May needs to show the EU some more clarity about Britain’s plans in order to win an extension.
“There will be no renegotiations, no new negotiations and no additional assurances on top of the additional assurances we have already given,” he said.
May sought to have another parliament vote on her proposed terms for leaving the EU, but House of Commons Speaker John Bercow ruled this week that the prime minister cannot keep asking lawmakers to vote on a proposal they have already twice rejected.