EU Grants Another 3-Month Brexit Extension

The European Union on Monday granted the U.K. another three months to exit the bloc.

What Happened

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally accepted the new deadline of Jan. 31, 2020, agreed upon by the European Commission’s decision, BBC reports.

Britain has the option to exit the E.U. before this deadline if its Parliament and the European Parliament ratify a deal.

Johnson asked the EU to make it clear that it will not extend the deadline further.

The EU is unlikely to oblige, according to the BBC. The bloc wants to avoid a no-deal scenario in case the British Parliament can’t ratify Johnson’s proposal by January.

The EU further said it isn’t open to renegotiating the “Brexit deal” agreed to with Johnson.

It’s worth noting the E.U. backtracked on a similar statement made on former Prime Minister Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement.

What’s Next

This is the third time that the E.U. has granted an extension to Brexit.

Last week, while considering the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement, the members of parliament declined to fast-track it through the House of Commons.

The House of Commons also rejected Johnson's bid to hold an early election Dec. 12 in the aftermath of the Brexit extension announcement. The MPs voted 299-70 in favor, but fell 135 short of the two-thirds majority required by law.

The Prime Minister now seeks to amend the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act to allow an election on that date anyway, The Guardian reported.

The pound sterling is at $1.2840, down by 0.17%, as of press time.