The ambassadors of the 27 EU countries meet today in Brussels to advise EU President Tusk on the British request to postpone Brexit. Tusk wants to know from the 27 EU governments whether they want to grant the request for a deferment until 31 January at the latest. It may be a wording that saying goodbye can also take place sooner, if the British parliament has already approved all the necessary Brexit laws before the end of January.
EU president Tusk advised the EU countries to postpone brexit until January 31. This delay is flexible: if the British agree earlier with a departure scheme, they can leave earlier. Most EU countries are in favor of the delay until the end of January, but France is calling for a shorter deadline.
It is not yet certain whether the ambassadors and Tusk will actually make a decision. The decision can also be postponed to Monday or Tuesday. Possibly EU president Tusk waits a few days before making a decision, because British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now planning to hold early elections on December 12.
Prime Minister Johnson wants the House of Commons to vote on possible elections on Monday. According to some ministers, the British government is divided on the matter. Some ministers would first like to get out of EU before getting to the polls.
Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn already hinted that the Labor Group would abstain from voting on Monday or vote against. As a result, Johnson does not reach the legally required two-thirds majority and the elections are canceled.
It is now more than three years since the British voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. Johnson won a first important win this week. Parliament indicated its support for its Brexit agreement. Immediately afterwards, however, he lost a vote on the tight schedule Johnson wants to apply to work out the necessary laws for the October 31 deadline.
According to Johnson, it is now up to EU to decide whether the Brexit will be delayed and how long that delay would last.