LONDON, UK — British lawmakers have voted to delay Brexit, just 15 days before the country is scheduled to leave the European Union.

The House of Commons voted by 412-202 in favor of seeking to postpone the U.K.'s departure for at least three months beyond the scheduled March 29 departure from the EU.

The motion commits Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative government to seek an extension until June 30 if Parliament approves a U.K.-EU withdrawal deal next week.

British lawmakers have already rejected May's EU divorce deal twice and if it fails a third time, the government says the U.K. is looking at a much longer delay to Brexit.

Any extension to Brexit has to be approved by all 27 remaining EU countries. </s> Britain could leave the European Union without a Brexit deal on April 12 if lawmakers fail next week to back Prime Minister Theresa May's agreement with Brussels, EU leaders said after a crisis summit in Brussels on Thursday.

With just a week to go until Britain risks lurching out into legal limbo at midnight (2300 GMT) next Friday, EU leaders gave May an extra two months, until May 22, to leave if she wins next week's vote in parliament. But she failed to convince the other 27 that she would succeed, prompting a frantic seven hours of talks to find a way to get Britain out without seeming to push.

The conclusion was a deal that suggested that Britain could, if May fails, come back and ask for a much longer delay. But this would be on the condition -- likely a major stumbling block -- that it takes part in elections to the new EU parliament on May 23. For it to do so, British election law says that would have to be announced six weeks beforehand, by April 12.

If it does not call an EU election, Britain will be out.

"The European Council agrees to an extension until 22 May 2019, provided the Withdrawal Agreement is approved by the House of Commons next week," the statement said.

"If the Withdrawal Agreement is not approved by the House of Commons next week, the European Council agrees to an extension until 12 April 2019 and expects the United Kingdom to indicate a way forward before this date for consideration by the European Council."

Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on ndtv.com/elections. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates from each of the 543 parliamentary seats for the 2019 Indian general elections. </s> Trick or treat? EU, UK agree to delay Brexit until Halloween

BRUSSELS (AP) — As if Brexit hadn't spooked Britain and the European Union enough over the past three years, the two sides agreed early Thursday to extend the deadline to Halloween.

The new, Oct. 31 cutoff date averts a precipitous and potentially calamitous Brexit that had been scheduled for Friday.

"Please, do not waste this time," European Council President Donald Tusk pleaded. He said the EU was giving Britain six more months "to find the best possible solution" to its Brexit impasse.

Like many things related to Brexit, the extension was a messy compromise. May came to an emergency summit in Brussels seeking to postpone Britain's departure from the EU until June 30. Some European leaders favored a longer extension, while French President Emmanuel Macron was wary of anything but a very short delay.

Leaders of the 27 remaining EU member states met for more than six hours over a dinner of scallop and cod before settling on the end of October, with the possibility of an earlier Brexit if Britain ratifies a withdrawal agreement.

May said the possibility of leaving before the deadline was a key request of hers.

"I continue to believe we need to leave the EU, with a deal, as soon as possible," she told reporters.

She noted that if U.K. lawmakers back her Brexit deal, Britain could still leave by June 30 — the Brexit deadline she had requested from the bloc — and possibly as soon as May 22, which would release Britain from having to participate in elections for the European Parliament.

May spoke to the 27 EU leaders for just over an hour, before they met for dinner without her to decide Britain's fate. In contrast to some testy recent summits, there were signs of warmth, even humor. May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were filmed laughing over a tablet bearing an image showing the two of them speaking to their respective Parliaments on Wednesday while wearing similar blue jackets.

While many leaders said they were inclined to grant a Brexit delay, Macron expressed reservations, warning as he arrived at the summit that "nothing is decided."

Afterward, the French president said he was satisfied with the outcome.

"We did the best possible compromise to preserve the unity of the 27 (other EU members) because we have left the United Kingdom more time to deliver a deal," Macron said.

Tusk said that during the extension Britain "will continue its sincere cooperation as a full member state, with all its rights, and as a close friend and trusted ally in the future."

Several months have passed since May and the EU struck a deal laying out the terms of Britain's departure and the outline of future relations. All that was needed was ratification by the British and European Parliaments.

But U.K. lawmakers rejected it — three times. As Britain's departure date of March 29 approached with no resolution in sight, the EU gave Britain until Friday to approve a withdrawal plan, change course and seek a further delay to Brexit, or crash out of the EU with no deal to cushion the shock.

Economists and business leaders have warned that a no-deal Brexit would lead to huge disruptions in trade and travel, with tariffs and customs checks causing gridlock at British ports and possible shortages of goods.

A disorderly Brexit would hurt EU nations, as well as Britain, and all want to avoid it — but there's little agreement about how.

May's future, meanwhile, is uncertain. She will address the U.K. Parliament later Thursday on the outcome of the summit.

She has previously said that "as prime minister" she could not agree to let Britain stay in the EU beyond June 30, and she has also promised to step down once Brexit is delivered. Many Conservative Party lawmakers would like her to quit now and let a new leader take charge of the next stage of Brexit. But they can't force her out until the end of the year, after she survived a no-confidence vote in December.

Every British initiative to get a deal has floundered so far. Several days of talks between May's Conservative government and the main opposition Labour Party aimed at finding a compromise have failed to produce a breakthrough. Labour favors a softer Brexit than the government has proposed, and wants to retain a close economic relationship with the bloc. The two sides said they would resume their discussions Thursday.

Now, the battle begins in Britain over what to do with the extra time.

All options from a no-deal Brexit to a general election to no Brexit at all remain on the table.

Pro-EU politicians said the next few months should be used to hold a new referendum on whether to leave the EU or remain. Labour lawmaker Mary Creagh tweeted that Parliament must move swiftly to break the Brexit deadlock with a confirmatory ballot on PMs deal."

Pro-Brexit lawmakers said it was time to replace May with another Conservative leader — preferably a hard-core Brexiteer.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the time had come for Britain to decide what it wants.

"We're giving them a very long time to take a decision," he said.

"You know, the European Union is not a prison. Nobody has to stay but it is also a home and we are not going to kick anyone out."

As to the symbolic end date? He said it was not on the minds of the EU leaders.

"As I learned this evening, Halloween is not a holiday widely celebrated across the European Union," Varadkar said.

Associated Press writers Mike Corder and Angela Charlton in Brussels, Gregory Katz and Danica Kirka in London and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report. </s> LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May formally asked the European Union on Wednesday to postpone Britain’s departure from the bloc — due in nine days — until June 30. But a frustrated EU has warned it could keep Britain waiting for an answer.

In a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, May said the Brexit process “clearly will not be completed before 29 March, 2019” — the date fixed in law two years ago for Britain’s departure.

She asked for a delay until June 30, and said she wanted to set out her reasons to EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Opposition politicians, and pro-EU members of May’s Conservative government, had urged a longer extension, saying a delay of just a few months could leave Britain once again facing a cliff-edge “no-deal” Brexit this summer. Withdrawing without a deal could mean huge disruption for businesses and people in the U.K. and the 27 remaining EU countries.

But a long extension would infuriate the pro-Brexit wing of May’s divided party, and would require Britain to participate in May 23-26 elections for the European Parliament.

May said that would be unacceptable.

“As prime minister I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than June 30,” she said in the House of Commons.

May said a longer delay would result in Parliament spending “endless hours contemplating its navel on Brexit.”

Britain voted in June 2016 to quit the EU, but almost three years later, its politicians are deadlocked over how — and even whether — to leave.

“Today marks 1,000 days since the referendum and this government has led the country and themselves into crisis, chaos and division,” said opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

British lawmakers have twice rejected the Brexit deal May has struck with the bloc. Her troubles deepened when the speaker of the House of Commons ruled earlier this week that she can’t ask Parliament to vote on the deal again unless it is substantially changed. That scuttled May’s plan to try a third time this week to get the agreement approved.

May told Tusk that despite the ruling “it remains my intention to bring the deal back to the House.”

If it is approved, she plans to use the extension until June 30 in order for Parliament to pass the necessary legislation for Britain’s departure.

A delay to Britain’s withdrawal requires the approval of all 27 remaining EU countries — and that’s not guaranteed. Any delay that required Britain to take part in European parliamentary elections would be a major headache for the bloc, and some EU leaders want a short extension to end by May 23, when voting begins.

The head of the bloc’s executive branch said EU leaders are unlikely to agree to a delay at a summit this week.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said if May wanted a delay, “she must bring approval of the negotiated deal and she must bring clear ideas on timing.”

“My impression is … that this week at the European Council there will be no decision, but that we will probably have to meet again next week, because Mrs. May doesn’t have agreement to anything, either in her Cabinet or in Parliament,” Juncker told Germany’s Deutschlandfunk radio.

“As long as we don’t know what Britain could say yes to, we can’t reach a decision.”

Britain’s political chaos has drawn reactions ranging from sympathy to scorn at home and around the world. On its front page Wednesday, the Brexit-backing Daily Mail newspaper bemoaned the time since the referendum as”1,000 lost days.”

From Washington, Donald Trump Jr. said May should have listened to his father, who urged her last year to sue the EU in order to secure better departure terms. The U.S. president has criticized May for not taking his advice.

The president’s multimillionaire son blamed “elites” in London and Brussels for scuttling Brexit. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Trump Jr. said “democracy in the U.K. is all but dead.”

The gridlock is also causing increasing exasperation among EU leaders.

Juncker said that “in all probability” Britain won’t leave on March 29, but he underlined the EU’s insistence that it will not reopen the painstakingly negotiated withdrawal agreement that British lawmakers have snubbed.

“There will be no renegotiations, no new negotiations and no additional assurances on top of the additional assurances we have already given,” he said.

Juncker said Britain’s Parliament needed to decide whether it would approve the deal that is on the table.

“If that doesn’t happen, and if Great Britain does not leave at the end of March, then we are, I am sorry to say, in the hands of God,” he said. “And I think even God sometimes reaches a limit to his patience.”

Geir Moulson in Berlin and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this story. </s> These are external links and will open in a new window

Theresa May has told MPs it remains her "priority" to deliver Brexit, defending the decision to delay the UK's exit from the EU by more than six months.

The new deadline of 31 October, set following late-night talks in Brussels, means the UK is likely to have to hold European Parliament elections in May.

The prime minister promised to pursue an "orderly" Brexit, adding that the "whole country" was "frustrated".

Brexit was originally set to happen on 29 March. But after MPs repeatedly rejected Mrs May's withdrawal agreement with the EU, the deadline was put back to 12 April.

The new 31 October deadline averts the prospect of the UK having to leave the EU without a deal this Friday.
• What happens next?
• Trick or treat? Halloween deadline is both

But, under EU rules, the UK will have to hold European Parliament elections in May, or face leaving on 1 June without a deal.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Mrs May said she "profoundly" regretted her deal not being agreed to by MPs.

She said: "The whole country is intensely frustrated that this process of leaving the European Union has not been completed."

On the latest delay, she said: "The choices we face are stark and the timetable is clear. I believe we must now press on at pace with our efforts to reach a consensus on a deal that is in the national interest."

Mrs May also told MPs that backing her deal would mean there was no need for European Parliament elections.

The government is continuing to hold talks with Labour aimed at achieving a consensus on how to break the deadlock in Parliament.

Mrs May said: "Reaching an agreement will not be easy, because to be successful it will require both sides to make compromises.

"But however challenging it may be politically, I profoundly believe that in this unique situation where the House is deadlocked, it is incumbent on both front benches to seek to work together to deliver what the British people voted for."

In response, Mr Corbyn said: "The second extension in the space of a fortnight represents not only a diplomatic failure but is another milestone in the government's mishandling of the entire Brexit process."
• How could another Brexit referendum work?
• How UK is gearing up for European elections

He added: "The prime minister has stuck rigidly to a flawed plan and now the clock has run down, leaving Britain in limbo and adding to the deep uncertainty of business, workers and people all across this country."

Mr Corbyn said cross-party talks were "serious, detailed and ongoing", but warned that the government would "have to compromise".

If no agreement was possible, he said: "We believe all options should remain on the table, including the option of a public vote."

What happens next?

Shortly - Talks continue between the Conservatives and Labour on how to end the Brexit impasse

2 May - Local elections take place in England and Northern Ireland

23 May - European Parliament elections are scheduled to happen in the UK, if MPs do not back Theresa May's agreement with the EU in time to avert them

31 October - The UK leaves the EU, unless MPs back the withdrawal agreement in advance of this deadline

Ian Blackford, the SNP's Westminster leader, urged Mrs May to use the extra time to hold a second EU referendum.

"It's now a very real possibility that we can remain in the European Union," he said.

"As of today, there are 204 days until the new Brexit deadline on the 31 October, so will the prime minister now remove the ridiculous excuse that there isn't enough time to hold a second referendum with remain on the ballot paper?"

Brexiteer Conservative MP Sir Bill Cash accused the prime minister of "abject surrender" to the EU in allowing the delay and said she should resign.

Before the Brussels summit, Mrs May had told leaders she wanted to move the UK's exit date from this Friday to 30 June, with the option of leaving earlier if Parliament ratified her agreement.

What was agreed in Brussels?
• A Brexit extension "only as long as necessary" and "no longer than 31 October" to allow for the ratification of the withdrawal agreement
• The UK "must hold the elections to the European Parliament" and if it fails to do this, the UK will leave on 1 June
• The European Council reiterates there can be no reopening of the withdrawal agreement negotiations

European Council President Donald Tusk said future developments were "entirely in the UK's hands", adding: "They can still ratify the withdrawal agreement, in which case the extension can be terminated."

Mr Tusk said the UK could also rethink its strategy or choose to "cancel Brexit altogether", but urged: "Please do not waste this time."

The EU had been split over the length of delay to offer the UK, and by law its other 27 member states had to reach a unanimous decision. </s> BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union expects British Prime Minister Theresa May to request a Brexit delay beyond March 29 after the divided UK parliament voted down her divorce agreed with the bloc for the second time on Tuesday.

Lawmakers in the House of Commons will vote at 1900 GMT (3 p.m. ET) on Wednesday on whether to leave without agreements that would mitigate disruption expected on both sides of the Channel.

Parliament is expected to reject a no-deal Brexit, although this will have no legal force. On Thursday, it will then vote on whether to ask the EU for a delay to Brexit.

Any such delay beyond March 29 - a date May herself had set for leaving - would need to be agreed unanimously by the other 27 national EU leaders. They will discuss the matter for the first time together at a summit in Brussels on March 21.

To prepare, European Council President Donald Tusk will meet Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Tuesday.

Here are the main schools of thought on extending the Brexit negotiating period known as Article 50, from a part of EU law regulating departures that is now being used for the first time.

The bloc said Britain must make up its mind on how long an extension it would want and what for exactly.

It insists there will be no more negotiations of their troubled divorce package - including a declaration on their future ties - during any extension.

Probably the least likely scenario at this stage as it would lead to an abrupt no-deal divorce on March 29 and the EU would not want to take any blame for the ensuing economic disruptions.

But proponents of this route say Brexit has hijacked the EU’s agenda and distracted the bloc from dealing with key challenges for too long and that the deepening acrimony should end now.

An extension of up to eight weeks has so far emerged as the most likely scenario, with a firm deadline around the EU-wide parliamentary elections due May 24-26.

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said on Monday Britain needs to be out on May 23 at the latest, or else it would be under legal obligation to organize European Parliament elections on its soil.

Britain does not want to do that and the bloc does not trust it would, potentially opening another legal row between the two.

“There is an understanding that to delay beyond the European Parliament vote is very risky, a serious problem,” an EU diplomat said after envoys from the 27 member states staying together after Brexit discussed the matter in Brussels on Wednesday.

Few in the bloc, however, believe that a short delay would break the persistent deadlock in Britain, which reflects how the cabinet, parliament and nation are divided over Brexit.

If nothing else, though, it would give more time for contingency preparations, delaying the cliff-edge Brexit until late May or even late June at the latest.

The bloc wants Britain to present a specific roadmap to approving the troubled divorce deal during any extension.

But many diplomats and officials in the EU political hub Brussels admit the bloc would not really be in a position to refuse such a request and would grant a short delay regardless, albeit reluctantly.

Macron has been most outspoken about not agreeing to a Brexit delay without a clear plan from London on how to push the stalled divorce agreement over the line in the House of Commons during that time.

Merkel, on the other hand, has suggested Britain could get more time to ensure an orderly Brexit.

A complicated option because it could open the way to legal challenges of the legitimacy of the European Parliament, or even the executive European Commission that the new chamber is due to pick by the end of the year, after May’s European elections.

But it is not entirely ruled out either.

EU talk of a long extension - through the rest of this year or even until the end of 2020 - was in part aimed at putting pressure on the hardline euroskeptics in May’s Conservative Party to back her deal, or risk Brexit potentially never materializing at all.

Advocates within the EU say a long delay could open the way to a second referendum or a national election that could upend Brexit.

Or it could give Britain time to change its mind on May’s negotiating red lines and decide to seek a closer relationship with the EU after Brexit, such as the customs union proposed by the opposition Labour Party.

But critics say that this would come at a great risk and cost to the EU itself, potentially extending the uncertainty for years and sapping time, resources and energy from the bloc that would be better used elsewhere.

It could also mean letting a contingent of euroskeptic UK lawmakers into the bloc’s new parliament and potentially having them stay the whole, five-year term, giving them a say on EU affairs even after Britain might have left. </s> UK Prime Minister Theresa May says she has asked EU to delay Brexit until June 30

LONDON (AP) — UK Prime Minister Theresa May says she has asked EU to delay Brexit until June 30. </s> The Prime Minister also warned that she would not allow Scotland’s “divisive nationalists” to undermine the United Kingdom as she confirmed that Article 50 will be triggered by the end of next March.

The announcement paves the way for Brexit to take place by the summer of 2019 - a year ahead of the scheduled date of the next general election.

In her first party conference speech as Conservative leader, Mrs May also said that the next Queen’s Speech will include a Great Repeal Bill which will give Parliament total jurisdiction to determine new laws.

However she confirmed that existing EU employment legislation protecting the legal rights of workers “will continue to be guaranteed in law” for “as long as I am Prime Minister”.

This well received speech also made clear that the Government will uphold the result of the June 23 referendum – and that there would not be a vote in both Houses of Parliament before two years of negotiations with the European Union after the formal tabling of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Mrs May confirmed that Attorney General will represent the Government in the High Court next week when advocates of Britain’s continued membership of the EU will attempt to delay the political process.

“People who argue that Article 50 can only be triggered after agreement in both Houses of Parliament are not standing up for democracy, they’re trying to subvert it,” declared Mrs May.

“They’re not trying to get Brexit right, they’re trying to kill it by delaying it. They are insulting the intelligence of the British people. That is why, next week, I can tell you that the Attorney General himself, Jeremy Wright, will act for the Government and resist them in the courts.

“Likewise, the negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union are the responsibility of the Government and nobody else. Because we voted in the referendum as one United Kingdom, we will negotiate as one United Kingdom, and we will leave the European Union as one United Kingdom. There is no opt-out from Brexit. And I will never allow divisive nationalists to undermine the precious Union between the four nations of our United Kingdom.”

Taking the unusual step for a Tory leader of addressing the conference on its opening day, Mrs May rejected the argument Britain must choose between “hard Brexit” - in which it regains control over immigration but loses access to the European single market - and “soft Brexit”, under which access to the single market comes with a requirement to allow free movement of EU workers.

“Whether people like it or not, the country voted to leave the EU,” said Mrs May. “That means we are going to leave the EU.”

The Prime Minsiter pledged: “We are going to be a fully independent, sovereign country. That means we are going, once more, to have the freedom to make our own decisions from how we label our food to the way in which we choose to control immigration.”

To loud applause, she added: “I know some people ask about the ‘trade-off’ between controlling immigration and trading with Europe. But that is the wrong way of looking at things. We have voted to leave the European Union and become a fully independent, sovereign country. We will do what independent, sovereign countries do. We will decide for ourselves how we control immigration. And we will be free to pass our own laws.”

She said her aim would be to strike a deal with the UK’s EU partners to include “co-operation on law enforcement and counter-terrorism work and to give British companies “the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the single market and let European businesses do the same here”.

She added: “Let me be clear: We are not leaving the European Union only to give up control of immigration again. And we are not leaving only to return to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. We don’t need – as I sometimes hear people say – to “punch above our weight”. Because our weight is substantial enough already. So let’s ignore the pessimists, let’s have the confidence in ourselves to go out into the world, securing trade deals, winning contracts, generating wealth and creating jobs. Let’s show the country we mean business.”

European Council President Donald Tusk welcomed Mrs May’s “clarity” which he said would allow the remaining 27 EU states to “engage to safeguard (their) interests”.

No delays as Theresa May says she means ‘business’ over Brexit </s> LONDON — British lawmakers look set to put the brakes on Brexit — for now.

Parliament is due to vote Thursday on whether to ask the European Union to delay the U.K.'s exit, due in just over two weeks on March 29.

It comes a day after lawmakers committed the country to staying in the bloc unless a divorce deal is ratified. With the approaching deadline intensifying fears that economic turmoil might follow a "no-deal" withdrawal by Britain, Parliament voted 321-278 Wednesday to rule out the possibility.

However, Prime Minister Theresa May and the European Union noted the decision wasn't legally binding. She still hopes to get the House of Commons to pass her divorce deal despite two big defeats.

A look at what might happen next:

After a series of Parliamentary defeats, May has grudgingly given lawmakers a vote on delaying Brexit. This option is likely to prove popular, since politicians on both sides of the Brexit debate fear time is running out to secure an orderly withdrawal by March 29.

But how long an extension, and for what purpose, are unclear.

May is proposing an extension until June 30 — but only if she can get Parliament to back her Brexit deal at a third attempt by March 20.

If it is defeated again, May says Britain will have to seek a long extension — with the risk that opponents of Brexit will use that time to soften the terms of departure or even overturn the decision to leave.

An extension requires approval from all 27 remaining EU member countries. They have an opportunity to grant such a request at a March 21-22 summit in Brussels.

But the rest of the EU is reluctant to postpone Brexit beyond the late May elections for the EU's legislature. The U.K. won't be represented in the European Parliament after it quits the EU; its seats already have been given to other countries to fill in the elections.

The bloc is more open to a long delay to allow Britain to radically change course. European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted Thursday he will appeal to the leaders of the other 27 EU nations "to be open to a long extension if the U.K. finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus about it."

Whatever Parliament decides this week, it won't end Britain's Brexit crisis. Both lawmakers and the public remain split between backers of a clean break from the EU and those who favor continuing a close relationship, either through a post-Brexit trade deal or by reversing the June 2016 decision to leave.

May also appears to be unwilling to abandon her hard-won deal with the EU on Britain's withdrawal and future relationship with the bloc. Parliament voted it down twice, and May looks set to put it to a third vote next week.

Her Conservative government is holding talks with its Northern Irish political allies and pro-Brexit backbench lawmakers to see if they will abandon opposition to the deal. Their concerns center on a guarantee in the exit deal to maintain an open Irish border after Brexit. The border "backstop" would keep the U.K. tied to EU trade rules, and Brexiteers worry it could trap the country in lockstep with the bloc indefinitely.

The government has tried to assure them that the measure will only be temporary, but so far they are unconvinced.

Some — especially among the opposition — think the only way forward is a snap election that could rearrange the forces in Parliament and break the political deadlock. May has ruled that out, but could come to see it as her only option.

And anti-Brexit campaigners haven't abandoned the idea of a new referendum on remaining in the EU. The government opposes the idea, which at the moment also lacks majority support in Parliament.

However, the political calculus could change if the paralysis drags on. The opposition Labour Party has said it would support a second referendum if other options were exhausted.
The United Kingdom and European Union agree to delay Brexit until October 31, 2019. This means that the UK will participate in next month's European Parliament election.