May to ask MPs for more time on Brexit

If Theresa May fails to win concessions from the EU on Brexit this week she plans to ask MPs for an extension to the negotiation period, it has been reported.

British Prime Minister Theresa May plans to ask the parliament for more time to negotiate changes to her Brexit deal with the European Union, media outlets report.

May is set to address parliament about the state of negotiations by Wednesday at the latest, with MPs set to vote on Thursday on how to proceed.

Should the prime minster fail in her bid to secure concessions from the EU before her speech, she plans to ask for more time and promise a vote on other Brexit options at the end of February, the Sunday Telegraph and other British media report.

The major sticking point in negotiations are so-called backstop provisions designed to keep open the border between Northern Ireland, which will leave the EU with Britain, and the Republic of Ireland.

Should the parliament give May more time on Thursday, it would mark the second extension since her Brexit deal was defeated by MPs in January.

The opposition accuses May of wanting to force MPs to make an all-or-nothing vote between her deal and a chaotic Brexit shortly before Britain is set to leave the EU on March 29.

The EU has thus far insisted that it will not reopen negotiations. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay is set to head to Brussels on Monday for talks.


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Source: AAP



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