EU sick of Brexit, but likely to grant an extension if asked

BRUSSELS: European Union chiefs are so fed up of Brexit that when they clinched a deal with Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week they did not want to entertain the need to delay Britain’s departure beyond Oct. 31.

But if Johnson does seek an extension for the divorce - as now seems likely after his failure to get the agreement approved in parliament on Saturday - there is very little chance that the other 27 members states would refuse.

“I can’t see them refusing,” Anand Menon, director of UK in a Changing Europe and a Brexit expert, told Reuters. “They don’t want no deal and they certainly don’t want to be blamed for it.”

If the 27 are asked to agree on a new deadline, it is likely that they would do so at a hastily convened emergency summit before the end of October, possibly next weekend. Their ambassadors are due to meet in Brussels on Sunday morning.

The British parliament voted in favor on Saturday of an amendment that withheld support for the Brexit deal and as a result Johnson is obliged, by law, to request a postponement.

Johnson has insisted that he will not seek a delay beyond Oct. 31 and he reiterated that in parliament after the vote, though he has not explained how he will get around it.

The EU 27 have already agreed twice to postpone Brexit from the original deadline of March 29 this year.