Brexit: May’s headache

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After several voting sessions, the English Parliament finally agreed to have the Brexit postponed

It was a decisive week for the United Kingdom, since on March 12, the proposals of Theresa May were re-voted, who at the last minute took "three additional documents destined to obtain the approval of the parliamentarians", according to Infobae. During the first vote, the parliamentarians rejected the decision with a vote that resulted in 391 votes against 242.

Leer en español: Brexit: El dolor de cabeza de May

As planned, given the refusal of this proposal, on March 13, they voted again. However, this vote would touch on the issue of Brexit without any agreement. According to El Espectador, this option was clearly not going to be approved because "the lower house has already expressed on previous occasions that it does not want this scenario". According to the Republic, "the House of Commons voted 321 to 278 to reject the departure of the EU without an agreement."

Then, the only possible scenario between these three days of voting was to approve the extension of the Brexit. As expected, the parliament approved extending the time of departure, and so the House backed the decision with a vote of 412 in favor versus 202 against.

In this way, Theresa May will have to ask European leaders "an extension of Article 50 of the EU Treaty, which governs the process and thus delaying the Brexit," according to the BBC.
However, in the next week, there will be another vote, in which parliamentarians will have to choose if they decide that the postponement is short or long.

You may be interested in reading: United Kingdom: Brexit 1 – Theresa May 0

According to the same media, by March 20, parliamentarians "must have approved the agreement they negotiated with Brussels if they want the Brexit to occur in a period of three months". To vote against this decision, the prime minister should ask the European Union even more time.

The problem with the above lies in the fact that if the period of time to leave the European Union is extended beyond June 30; the United Kingdom would have to participate in the elections of the European Parliament in May of this year.

However, El País reports that if the one presented by May fails again, the time of the postponement could be requested to Brussels for a period of up to two years, which would help to contemplate different options, such as a smoother Brexit, or even the opportunity to hold another referendum.

The voice of the European Union

The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said in his Twitter account that he will accede to the requests of the United Kingdom and accept the "long" postponement of the date of departure from the country, according to La Vanguardia. In this way, the president said that: "during my consultations before the European summit, I will appeal to the 27 countries to be open to a long extension if the United Kingdom considers it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and create a consensus around it".

According to the same media, community sources affirmed that the European Union is prepared for any decision taken on this matter and stressed that both May and the European Union are ready to sign.

Meanwhile, May's victory is momentary, because there is still a big obstacle to be defined: the duration of the exit extension. If extended, not only could a new referendum be called, but elections that completely change the rules of the game. If it happens, the Brexit would go down in history as Theresa May's great headache.

LatinAmerican Post | Laura Viviana Guevara Muñoz

Translated from "Brexit: el dolor de cabeza de May"