Emmanuel Macron breaks ranks with EU leaders to push for two-week Brexit extension

Emmanuel Macron is urging fellow European leaders to grant Britain a fresh Brexit extension of just two weeks, it has been reported.



The French President is said to want a new deadline no more than 15 days away from the current exit date - teeing up a major clash with fellow European leaders who are pushing for a longer delay.

Mr Macron believes that would be sufficient time for Boris Johnson to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which he "paused" after the Commons rejected his fast-track timetable for getting it on the statute book.

The Prime Minister sent a letter to EU leaders on Saturday requesting an extension until 31 January, as required under the terms of the Benn Act.

Speaking about the prospect of a fresh delay, France's Europe Minister Amélie de Montchalin said: "We will see if a purely technical extension of a few days is justified, so that the British Parliament can complete its parliamentary procedure."

But she added: “Outside of this perspective, an extension intended to win time or renegotiate the agreement is excluded. We have lost too much time.

"We have reached an agreement and we must now implement it without delay to stop an uncertainty that is hurting millions of citizens and businesses."

The hardline stance from Paris comes as European Council President Donald Tusk argues for a three-month "flextension", giving Britain up until the end of January.

A month-long extension - which would see the UK leave the EU by 30 November - is also being discussed in Brussels.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is understood to have made clear her support for a three-month extension during a phone call with Mr Johnson on Wednesday.

But The Telegraph reports that many member states feel such an extension would be too short, with Germany and the Netherlands said to prefer the 31 January date.

Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said an "emergency" European Council meeting could be called in the coming days if EU leaders could not agree on a plan. He added: "My bags are always packed for Brussels and packed they are again."