PARIS — France has agreed to the three-month Brexit extension suggested by European Council President Donald Tusk, softening its previously hard stance on only granting the U.K. a short technical extension of a few weeks.

The change in position happened over the weekend after Emmanuel Macron had a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday afternoon and after further conversations between the EU27 and the U.K., according to an official close to the French president.

But the EU will only extend the Brexit deadline until January 31 if the U.K. appoints a member of the European Commission, according to draft documents seen by POLITICO.

"With a view to allowing for the finalisation of the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, the European Council agrees to a further extension until 31 January 2020," says one of the three documents.

The draft documents state that during this period, the U.K. will have to appoint a European commissioner as it "will remain a Member State until the new withdrawal date, with full rights and obligations."

France decided not to be the lone voice against the European consensus on the Brexit extension

The U.K. request for an extension, which was made after British MPs backed Johnson's Brexit deal but refused to support his plan to rush the legislation through parliament, said that if the Withdrawal Agreement was ratified before January 31, then the extension "should be terminated early."

The same language is written into one of the EU documents, stating that the Withdrawal Agreement could therefore come into force on the first day of the following month, meaning either on "1 December 2019; – 1 January 2020; or – 1 February 2020."

At a meeting of EU27 ambassadors on Friday, France was the only country pushing for a hard line, according to several diplomats.

"We were 29 against one," said one diplomat — meaning 26 EU countries and the three main EU institutions were all in favor of Tusk's line, with just France on the other side. But the French president changed his mind after a weekend of telephone diplomacy.

Strong indications from the U.K. that it will hold an early general election and assurances that London won’t seek another renegotiation of the Withdrawal Agreement, as well as a commitment that the EU27 could start working on the new European Commission’s strategic agenda without the U.K.'s participation, saw Macron agree to the longer extension, according to the French official. The Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party have reportedly pledged to back a U.K. general election in early December if the EU granted a three-month extension.

“The perspective of elections [in the U.K.] was clearly reinforced over the weekend, several parties support it in principle, including the Lib Dems and SNP,” the official said. “The conditions of the extension were reinforced and clarified, namely the non-negotiable nature of the [Withdrawal] Agreement and the possibility of conducting meetings about European business among the [EU] 27 alone [without the U.K.] to prepare for the future.”

Unlike the uncompromising stance Macron took at the last European Council meeting when he stood virtually alone against opening EU accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, France decided not to be the lone voice against the European consensus on the Brexit extension, avoiding taking sole responsibility for a no-deal situation that would have dire consequences for the Continent.

“After pushing for a very firm position, we wanted to prioritize unity and compromise instead of a solution that blocks everything or causes rifts,” the official said.

The draft documents seen by POLITICO also show that, if there is full consensus among EU countries, the Brexit extension will be granted without the need for an extraordinary summit of national leaders, using so-called written procedure.

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Jacopo Barigazzi reported from Brussels.

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