EU: 'Brexit postponed until October 31'

European Union leaders have once again given the United Kingdom a delay in Brexit. This has now been postponed to Thursday, October 31. This is a flexible postponement, which also makes it possible to leave the European Union earlier.

Donald Tusk, the President of the European Commission, announced on Wednesday 10 April that the brexit has been postponed again. The new date for Brexit is Thursday, October 31. However, that date was not chosen randomly. After that, the European Commission will take office; setting this deadline a little earlier will prevent the United Kingdom from getting a European Commissioner.

Tusk also reports that it is not possible to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement. An evaluation moment has also been scheduled for June 2019, which mainly focuses on how the country is doing at that moment. However, the above does mean that the country has to participate in the European elections at the end of May. Another postponement is also not out of the question, because just before this deadline, on October 17, another European summit is planned. 

Disagreement about postponement
Initially, the United Kingdom was to leave the European Union on Friday, March 29. This proved unfeasible, as British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to secure a majority for her Brexit deal. Brexit was then postponed to Friday April 12† However, the British House of Commons has now 3 times voted on the agreement and there is still no majority. That is why another postponement has now been granted, in order to prevent a hard Brexit.

However, the consultation about this postponement was not without fits and starts. The heads of government in Europe were unable to agree on the duration of the postponement. Most hinted that they would be willing to grant an extension until the end of 2019, or even longer. But, French President Emmanuel Macron disagreed. He made it clear that the functioning of the European Union should not be jeopardized by Brexit, and argued for a shorter delay.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte late NU.nl consider this an acceptable compromise and therefore do not expect Brexit to be postponed again. "On October 31 there is a deal, Brexit has been canceled or the United Kingdom will leave without a deal. However, now we can prepare for that for six months."

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.