The ambassadors of the 27 EU countries are meeting 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 delay until at most January 31. It may be formulated so that the departure can also happen earlier if the British Parliament has approved all the necessary Brexit laws before the end of January.
EU President Tusk has advised the EU countries to postpone Brexit until January 31. That postponement is flexible: if the Britons agree earlier on a departure arrangement, they can leave sooner. Most EU countries are in favor of the delay until the end of January, but France is pushing for a shorter deadline.
It is not yet certain whether the ambassadors and Tusk will actually make a decision today. The decision could also be postponed until Monday or Tuesday. EU President Tusk may be waiting a few days before making a decision because British Prime Minister Boris Johnson now plans to hold early elections on December 12.
Prime Minister Johnson wants the House of Commons to vote on potential elections on Monday. According to some ministers, the British government is divided on the matter. Some ministers would first like to finalize the withdrawal from the EU before going to the polls.
Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has already suggested that the Labour faction will abstain or vote against on Monday. As a result, Johnson will not reach the legally required two-thirds majority, and the elections will not take place.
It has now been more than three years since the Britons voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. Johnson achieved a first important victory this week. Parliament indicated its support for his Brexit agreement. Immediately afterwards, however, he lost a vote on the tight schedule Johnson wants to use to draft the necessary laws before the October 31 deadline.
According to Johnson, it is now up to the EU to decide whether Brexit will be delayed and how long that delay would last.