This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47031312
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Brexit: How can Article 50 be extended? | |
(14 days later) | |
MPs are due to vote on Thursday on whether to delay Brexit by extending Article 50. How would the process work? | |
Article 50 is part of the EU's Lisbon Treaty - the section sets out what happens when a country decides that it wants to leave the European Union. | |
It allows a two-year period for negotiations on a divorce - finalising a withdrawal agreement and drawing up the broad outlines of a future relationship. | |
The UK triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017, which means that it is set to leave the EU on 29 March this year. The default position in law at the moment is that - deal or no deal - 29 March is when Brexit will happen, whether the UK is ready or not. | |
The UK makes a request | |
One way around this would be for the UK to ask for Article 50 to be extended to allow more time to finalise a deal, or perhaps come up with an alternative outcome via an election or another referendum. | |
But it is not something the UK can do alone, even if Parliament were to vote in favour of an extension and force the government to act. | |
The UK would need to go to Brussels to get the unanimous agreement of all 27 other EU countries. | The UK would need to go to Brussels to get the unanimous agreement of all 27 other EU countries. |
There is an EU leaders' summit scheduled for 21 to 22 March, during which a formal request for an extension could be made and approved. | |
It is also possible in theory that a decision could be made even later, perhaps at ministerial or ambassadorial level, as long as it took place by 29 March. | |
"First the request must be made," said a spokeswoman for the European Commission, "and then it is a decision of unanimity from all member states. | "First the request must be made," said a spokeswoman for the European Commission, "and then it is a decision of unanimity from all member states. |
"There are a number of avenues for making decisions and it is not specified in Article 50 how the decision should be made." | "There are a number of avenues for making decisions and it is not specified in Article 50 how the decision should be made." |
The EU's decision | |
But the EU is not obliged to say yes. Other EU leaders would want to know why the UK was asking for an extension. | |
If it was just to allow time for even more argument at Westminster, they might not be impressed. | |
So, the UK would need to have a pretty clear plan. | So, the UK would need to have a pretty clear plan. |
The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier told the European Parliament: "It is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. They have to tell us what it is they want for our future relations, what will their choice be? That is the question that has to be answered before a decision on a possible further extension." | |
If a short extension was needed for a few weeks - to make sure any last-minute deal gets turned into law in the right way - that would almost certainly get the green light. Otherwise, the EU could get the blame for a no-deal Brexit. | |
Even a three-month extension, until the end of June, should not be too complicated. There are European elections in May, but the new parliament does not sit for the first time until the first week of July. | |
That means that the outgoing parliament, including UK members of the European Parliament (MEPs), could be asked to sit in special session if it was needed to ratify a Brexit deal. | |
A longer extension | |
But any extension for longer than three months, while possible in theory, gets into much more tricky legal and political territory. | But any extension for longer than three months, while possible in theory, gets into much more tricky legal and political territory. |
The UK government says that it has no intention of taking part in May's European elections, even if Brexit has not happened by then, so the UK would have no MEPs in the new European Parliament, even though it would still be a member state. | |
Other countries could well insist that part of the price of a longer Article 50 extension would be the UK agreeing to take part in the European elections. | Other countries could well insist that part of the price of a longer Article 50 extension would be the UK agreeing to take part in the European elections. |
Or perhaps existing MEPs could be asked to stay on for a temporary period. | Or perhaps existing MEPs could be asked to stay on for a temporary period. |
Revoking Article 50 | |
Article 50 can also be withdrawn or revoked. The UK can do that without consulting anyone else. It would mean that Brexit would not happen and the UK would remain in the EU. But Prime Minister Theresa May has said that should not happen. | |
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that a revocation should be "unequivocal and unconditional", suggesting that the ECJ would take a dim view of any attempt to withdraw an Article 50 notification and then resubmit it again later. | |
Read more from Reality Check | Read more from Reality Check |
Send us your questions | Send us your questions |
Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Twitter |