As leaders convened for day two of the EU summit in Brussels, Brexit was still firmly on the agenda. British Prime Minister Theresa May skipped the second day and headed back to London after the EU agreed on a plan to delay Brexit until May 22, 2019, if MPs approve the withdrawal agreement next week, Euronews reports.
If ministers do not back the deal then the EU will agree to a shorter delay until April 12.
European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker held a joint press conference on Friday afternoon in which they said leaders had “formalised last night’s decision by the EU27 and the UK to delay the cliff edge”.
“I am really happy about this development,” said Tusk. “It means that until April 12 anything is possible — a deal, a long extension if the UK decided to rethink its strategy of revoking Article 50.
“The fate of Brexit is in the hands of our British friends.”
EU leaders made their stances clear on Brexit.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU27 would convene before April 12, in the presence of May, but took a hard line on the subject of negotiations.
“We will not reopen negotiations on the withdrawal agreement,” she said.
Irish PM Varadkar has similar views concerning further Article 50 extensions for the UK, saying there categorically would not be any.
Macron was the last of the leaders to speak, having walked straight past the convened press when he arrived at the summit on Friday morning without stopping for comment.
His message was clear: “Europe must not remain hostage to Brexit.”