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EU leaders give Britain 'last chance' for orderly Brexit

[March 22, 2019] By Alastair Macdonald and Thomas Escritt

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU leaders on Friday said Britain had a final chance to leave the bloc in an orderly fashion, having given the UK parliament an April 12 deadline to offer a new plan or choose to quit the bloc without a treaty.

Arriving for a second day of a summit dominated by talks over Britain's departure, Belgium's prime minister said he hoped for a rational decision by British lawmakers to back the withdrawal treaty that May concluded with Brussels.

Preparations for a no-deal, in which Britain would face sudden trade barriers and restrictions on business, were still underway, however, Charles Michel told reporters.

"This is perhaps the last chance for Britain to say what it wants for the future," Michel said. "More than ever, this is in the hands of the British parliament," he said, adding that the 27 EU leaders were not blind to the risks of a no-deal.

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said he believed May, who did not attend the second day of the summit, had a 50:50 chance of getting the deal through the House of Commons.

"Hope dies last with me," Bettel said.

Seven hours of summit brainstorming on Thursday kept a host of options open for leaders, who say they regret Britain's decision to leave but are eager to move on from what they increasingly see as a distraction.

A first-ever leaders' dinner debate over the EU's China policy at the summit was delayed until Friday, for example.

May, who addressed leaders on Thursday but missed out on the dinner because the 27 were forced to focus on Brexit rather than China, was kept in the loop by summit chair Donald Tusk, the European Council president, who shuttled back and forth.

Tusk explained the leaders' thinking to May and secured her acceptance for the plans, officials said.

May originally wanted to be able to delay Britain's departure until June 30 to tie up legislative loose ends.

But now, a May 22 departure date will apply if parliament rallies behind the British prime minister next week. If it does not, Britain will have until April 12 to offer a new plan or decide to leave the European Union without a treaty.

That date corresponds to the six weeks' legal notice required for the EU election - which the bloc would insist Britain hold on May 23 if it remains a member. If it does not hold the election, leaders said, the very last date Britain must leave would be June 30, before the new EU parliament convenes.

"We wanted to support May and we showed that," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. "It was an intensive, but successful evening."

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Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for a news briefing after meeting with EU leaders in Brussels, Belgium May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A senior EU official said the key achievement was to shift the focus of responsibility to London from Brussels.

DEPARTURE DETAILS STILL VAGUE

French President Emmanuel Macron argued at the summit that if the leaders left their decision until late next week, they would be seen as either pushing Britain out on Friday or blinking at their own deadline.

Instead, they have pushed the trigger back to Britain, which will be confronted with making a choice by April 12 on whether to hold an EU election as part of a long-term rethink, or prepare to quit by May 22, or possibly in June, without a deal.

"Everything is now in the hands of the House of Commons. That's the message," a senior EU official said.

The details of exactly how and when Britain would leave on or after April 12 are still somewhat vague.

It might leave abruptly at midnight (2200 GMT) on that Friday night. But EU officials said it could also agree a date with the EU to leave later, deal or no deal.

That could give some weeks to make a no-deal exit somewhat less chaotic, though the EU will refuse attempts to try and emulate the smoothness of the withdrawal treaty.

It would also try for Britain being out by May 22 to avoid problems over the EU election on May 23-26, but some leaders indicated they could cope with Britain leaving any time until June 30 - before the new European Parliament convenes on July 2.

In the case of a longer extension, the main idea is for one-year, EU officials said. That would give Britain time to hold an election, and possibly a second referendum if it choose to, and avoid a long that would complicate negotiations for a new long-term EU budget.

(Additional reporting by Robin Emmott, Philip Blenkinsop, Richard Lough, Francesco Guarascio, Andreas Rinke; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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