BRITAIN could have to stay in the EU until April Fool’s Day 2020 if Theresa May’s deal falls, leaked Brussels documents have revealed.
EU documents showed that if the PM had sought a longer delay in Brussels last week then they would have forced us to stay in for a whole extra year.
So if her deal fails yet again then Britain is looking at a similar delay to Brexit, the Guardian revealed today.
Mrs May asked them for an extension to Article 50 until June 30, but they only offered us one until May 22 at the latest.
If the deal doesn’t pass then we can only stay in the bloc until April 12, by which time we need another plan in place or to leave without a deal at all.
The PM said this week that unless the House votes for it, Britain won’t leave without a deal.
EU leaders deliberately left the door open to a long extension in case it was needed.
And Donald Tusk tweeted today that the EU27 should listen to those who want a second referendum and to stop Brexit.
He said: “Appeal to European Parliament: You should be open to a long extension, if the UK wishes to rethink its strategy.”
EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier even said today the UK “can stay” in the EU if it wants to and “everything is possible” up until April 11.
Brexiteers fear this year of extra time would give time for an election, a second referendum or a soft Brexit, which Mrs May has dubbed a “slow Brexit”.
It would almost certainly mean the UK would have to put up candidates for the EU elections in May, something the Tories have said shouldn’t happen almost THREE YEARS after the referendum.
But a long extension might not mean the UK would have the right to take part or vote in longer term plans such as the bloc’s budget.
However, no final decision on a long extension has yet been made, sources stressed to the paper.
“It will be at least until the end of the year, certainly,” one official said.
Some in Brussels have praised the attempt from MPs to wrestle control of Brexit back from Theresa May.
They think that could lead to a softer Brexit where we stayed tied to the bloc through a customs union or something similar.
Later today MPs will vote on what their plan B for leaving the EU is.
Options on the table could be a second referendum, revoking Article 50 and cancelling Brexit altogether, or a Norway-style single market deal with the bloc.
The PM’s deal won’t be on the table, but a vote on it could come back to the Commons within days as more and more Brexiteers finally fold and say they will back her plan.
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