EU keeps UK waiting on Brexit delay, Johnson gears for an election

BRUSSELS: EU member states on Wednesday delayed a decision on whether to grant Britain a three-month Brexit extension, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson said if the deadline is deferred to the end of January he would call an election by Christmas.

Senior EU diplomats said the most likely scenario was that the bloc would grant a three-month delay, with Britain permitted to leave sooner if it could enact legislation faster. There was also a chance that some EU countries, notably France, could demand a shorter extension, possibly of just days or weeks.

The one big uncertainty is whether France will agree. A source at President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Tuesday Paris was ready to grant an additional few days to facilitate the British parliament's vote but opposed any extension beyond that. On Wednesday, French officials stuck to that view, despite Tusk's recommendation for a longer delay.

Any extension must be agreed unanimously among the EU 27. They have agreed twice to postpone Brexit from the original deadline of Mar 29 this year. Both times, the French complained but eventually relented.Johnson confounded some of his critics by emerging last week with a deal with the EU, which differs from an agreement reached by his predecessor Theresa May, mainly over how it handles the land border of British-ruled Northern Ireland.

In the latest day of Brexit drama in Britain on Tuesday, lawmakers handed Johnson the first major parliamentary victory of his premiership by signalling their support for his deal in an early legislative hurdle.

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