EU Open to Brexit Delay if Deal Reached03/21 06:56

   European Union leaders meeting for a Brexit summit are likely to grant 
Britain a short extension, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday, if 
the U.K. government can win parliamentary support next week for its divorce 
deal.

   BRUSSELS (AP) ---- European Union leaders meeting for a Brexit summit are 
likely to grant Britain a short extension, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said 
Thursday, if the U.K. government can win parliamentary support next week for 
its divorce deal.

   But the early signs of that happening are not good. British Prime Minister 
Theresa May angered many legislators with a televised speech late Wednesday 
blaming Parliament for the Brexit impasse. One lawmaker slammed her remarks as 
"toxic."

   May has a tough day ahead as she arrives in Brussels to lobby her European 
partners to extend the Brexit date from March 29 until June 30 to push through 
the agreement she reached with the EU in November.

   Her deal has already between twice rejected massively by the U.K. 
Parliament, and EU leaders are being asked to take the risk that May can 
convince the lawmakers next week.

   That looked more uncertain after her speech on the eve of the summit, in 
which May told a Brexit-weary public: "You want this stage of the Brexit 
process to be over and done with. I agree. I am on your side."

   She faced a backlash for her comments from lawmakers, including from some in 
her own Conservative Party.

   Anna Soubry, of the breakaway Independent Group, described it in a tweet as 
the "most dishonest and divisive statement from any Prime Minister." David 
Lammy of the opposition Labour Party called the speech "sinister," while 
Conservative Sam Gyimah called her comments "toxic" and a "low blow."

   Top EU officials have said that May's gambit is pushing the country to the 
brink of a catastrophic no-deal scenario, with huge political and economic 
implications for Britain and the European Union at large.

   Merkel told German lawmakers Thursday that "we can comply in principle with 
this request if we were to have a positive vote next week on the withdrawal 
documents in the British Parliament."

   But she warned that the EU wants to ensure the legitimacy of the May 23-26 
elections to the European Parliament. European Commission President Jean-Claude 
Juncker has said that the Britain should be out before May 23 or be obliged to 
take part in the Europe-wide vote.

   The Europeans fear that citizens unable to vote could launch legal action at 
the European Court of Justice, or that businesses unhappy with legislation 
adopted by the new parliament might challenge its legitimacy.

   Merkel vowed to work "until the last hour" to try and ensure that Britain 
doesn't leave without a deal, even though her government has already put "the 
most important emergency measures" in place to deal with such a scenario just 
in case.

   "We will, despite these measures we have taken, work until the last day --- 
I will say until the last hour --- to ensure that this emergency planning 
doesn't come into effect," she said. "We will do everything in the remaining, 
admittedly few, days to achieve an orderly, joint solution."

   Lithuania's president, Dalia Grybauskaite, also believes the EU stands ready 
to take the risk.

   The EU "will certainly be inclined to help (May) to talk to the U.K. 
Parliament," she said, and that "we will definitely approve (an extension)," 
the Baltic News Agency said, citing Lithuanian radio.

   Should May fail, EU leaders could be forced to meet again next week to weigh 
their next move, with a much longer extension a possibility.

   In her statement Wednesday night, May didn't accept a role in causing the 
deadlock, but warned that if lawmakers didn't back her deal it would cause 
"irreparable damage to public trust."

   May said Parliament now faces a "final choice" between her deal, a no-deal 
departure and cancelling Brexit.

   But Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said she was simply expressing frustration 
and tapping into the public's exasperated mood. Parliament must come to a 
consensus in a time of national decision, he told the BBC.

   "In fairness, what she is actually saying is that we have to implement the 
results of a democratic referendum," he said. "That's the challenge."

   But what remains unclear is exactly what happens next. Hunt said he did not 
know if May's Brexit deal will be brought back to Parliament next week, as he 
warned of "extreme unpredictability" if the issue is not resolved.

   Main U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was also meeting 
senior EU officials in Brussels, trying to persuade them that Parliament can 
find an alternative to May's rejected plan.

   "I believe it should be possible to agree a deal with the EU that secures a 
close economic relationship before the European Parliament elections," Corbyn 
said.


(CZ)