Brexit: Ireland backs new Article 50 extension to delay EU exit until February next year

Ireland has backed backed a further extension of Article 50 that would see the Brexit deadline delayed until February next year.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed that he supported the three-month delay during a phone conversation with European Council president Donald Tusk on on Wednesday morning.

A consensus seems to be emerging in Brussels behind a three month extension that would end on 31 January – though some countries, led by France, are uneasy.

"At this stage, we consider that there is no justification for a new extension," Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, had said on Tuesday afternoon ahead of votes in the House of Commons.

But other voices in Brussels have backed the plan pushed by Mr Tusk. David Sassoli, the European Parliament president, on Wednesday said it would be "advisable" to back the three month extension, adding: “This extension will allow the UK to clarify its position and the European Parliament to exercise its role."

A three month delay is seen as the default option for EU leaders, because it was the length specified in the Benn Act that forced the prime minister to request a delay in the fist place. However, the situation is complicated because Boris Johnson has said he does not want a delay at all.

EU leaders can also choose to vary the length of an extension if they believe one should be longer or shorter – as they did when they imposed a longer extension on Theresa May earlier this year. But the bloc's authorities are wary about being dragged directly into a UK domestic political debate.

Hopes that the withdrawal agreement could be approved by Westminster in just three days were dashed on Tuesday night after MPs rejected the programme motion put forward by the government and said they needed more time to scrutinise the legislation.

"Following prime minister Boris Johnson’s decision to pause the process of ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, and in order to avoid a no-deal Brexit, I will recommend the EU27 accept the UK request for an extension. For this I will propose a written procedure," Mr Tusk said late on Tuesday night after the votes were counted in Westminster.

open image in gallery

The European Council president rang around EU leaders on Wednesday to drum up support for the three month plan.

The "written procedure" plan is currently for EU leaders to agree an extension without having to meet – but if no agreement can be found then a summit in Brussels will have to be called to thrash out consensus.

If dissent from the countries led by France leads to a meeting, EU diplomats say that such a summit could be expected to take place on Monday 28 October – just three days before the UK is due to crash out without a deal.

Ambassadors of the 27 EU countries are due to meet in the early evening, around 5.30pm local time, in Brussels on Wednesday to find a way forward.

Downing Street has for months claimed that it could circumvent the Benn Act an avoid a further Brexit delay, with Boris Johnson claiming the 31 October deadline was "do or die". But ultimately the prime minister's plan appeared limited to not signing the extension request letter, and to sending an accompanying letter asking for the request to be ignored. A European Commission spokesperson said on Monday that the prime minister's shenanigans changed nothing and that the request was received.