May gets 6 month Brexit delay as EU says 'don't waste this time'

The UK was given a Brexit delay of six months to October 31, after a marathon emergency meeting of EU leaders in Brussels overnight.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May had asked for a delay until June 30, but EU Council President Donald Task had pushed for a longer pause in an expression of frustration at the UK's inability to get a deal through parliament.

“This extension is as flexible as I expected and a little bit shorter than I expected but it is still enough to find the best possible solution. Please do not waste this time,” Tusk said.

May was set to face MPs in parliament on Thursday to report back on the meeting's conclusions.

"I know that there is huge frustration from many people that I had to request this extension," she told a news conference in the early hours of Thursday.

"The UK should have left the EU by now and I sincerely regret the fact that I have not yet been able to persuade Parliament to approve a deal. I do not pretend the next few weeks will be easy, or there is a simple way to break the deadlock in parliament. But we have a duty as politicians to find a way to fulfil the democratic decision of the referendum, deliver Brexit and move our country forward. Nothing is more pressing or more vital."

The 'flextension' gives May several options: the UK could leave at any stage if her deal gets through parliament, it could revoke Article 50 and abandon Brexit or leave without a deal. It also ties the UK into participation in the European elections if the Withdrawal Agreement is not ratifed by May 22.

MACRON INTERVENTION

There will also be a half-time review in June to make sure the UK acted appropriately as a member state, a move insisted on by the French President Emmanuel Macron in response to threats from hard-right Conservatives Brexiteers to disrupt EU business in retaliation for the Brexit delay.

Tusk had proposed a one year extension in a letter to EU leaders on Tuesday, although Macron was keen to shorten any delay, signalling a hardening of attitudes in Paris, much to the irritation of other EU leaders who wanted to give the UK as much breathing space as possible.

“I think it is always better to have a piece of something than all of nothing," Tusk said. "Six months, more than six months, it could be enough for a good solution if there is a good will and majority for a good solution in the House of Commons.”

Macron said after the summit that a long delay would “weaken our institutions, by having a member who is permanently there but leaving”.

“It’s true that the majority was more in favour of a very long extension. But it was not logical in my view, and above all, it was neither good for us, nor for the UK. I take responsibility for this position, I think it’s for the collective good.”

The French leader demanded the summit's final text included a clause binding the UK to stick to the EU's programme during the delay.

“The United Kingdom shall facilitate the achievement of the Union's tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the Union's objectives, in particular when participating in the decision-making processes of the Union,” the document stated.

"To this effect, the United Kingdom shall facilitate the achievement of the Union's tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the Union's objectives, in particular when participating in the decision-making processes of the Union."