While EU officials call the three-month extension a best-case scenario, May has insisted that she prefers to have the UK exit the EU at the end of March, as originally planned. Without the requisite parliamentary authorization, all indications are pointing to United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May being pressured into requesting a three-month extension to the two-year Brexit negotiation period.
If the British Parliament supports the Brexit deal but does not authorize it in time for the European Union (EU) summit on March 21, this “technical extension” will allow parliament to tie off any legislative loose ends related to the UK’s departure from the bloc. But, since both sides wish to avoid a scenario in which the UK is forced to participate in European elections from May 23-26, the delay is not expected to last more than three months.
While EU officials call the three-month extension a best-case scenario, May has insisted that she prefers to have the UK exit the EU at the end of March, as originally planned. The pressure is now on May to amend the most disputed part of the deal, the so-called backstop, to avoid a no-deal scenario or intervention from the British Parliament.
The backstop is May’s attempt to prevent a hard border and, instead, maintain the UK-to-EU market and customs standards so goods remain unchecked along the Ireland-Northern Ireland border. The Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party has voiced concerns regarding how that process would affect Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.