British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the president of the European Council Donald Tusk on Saturday that he would send him a letter within the day to ask for a delay to Brexit.
An EU source told AFP that Tusk and Johnson had spoken by telephone at 8:15pm Brussels time (1815 GMT), and said: "The PM confirmed that the letter would be sent to Tusk today.
"Tusk will on that basis start consulting EU leaders on how to react. This may take a few days," he added.
Johnson insists he does not want to postpone Britain's departure from the European Union beyond the current October 31 Brexit deadline, and will not "negotiate" with the Brussels to do so.
But, after he lost a parliamentary vote earlier Saturday, he is compelled by British law to send a letter requestion an extension until January 31, 2020 while parliament works on Brexit legislation.
The letter is due to be sent to his office by midnight Saturday (2200 GMT).
The decision to agree to another extension will come down to the other 27 EU leaders, who have already agreed twice to postpone Brexit from the original deadline of March 29 this year.
Frustration in Brussels
Fustration has mounted among them over the distraction of a process that has dragged on for three-and-a-half years since Britons voted in a referendum to leave the EU.
After the second extension they said it would be the last one, and French President Emmanuel Macron has been the most outspoken and hawkish among the 27’s leaders on the issue.
His camp stresses the cost of protracted uncertainty in terms of sapping the EU’s political capital and attention to face challenges from climate and migration to international crises, as well as economic cost for companies that have invested in contingency preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
Despite French misgivings, the EU has repeatedly made clear it would not want to be seen pushing a member state out and that its absolute priority was to avoid any no-deal Brexit, especially one for which it would take the blame if it refused to postpone Brexit.
However, an extension can only be granted by unanimity among the 27 and, asked whether there was any serious risk that Macron could refuse it, another EU official said: “No.”
“If there is a chance of a deal, they will never choose no deal,” said Nick Petre, spokesman for the Renew Europe group of liberals in the European Parliament that includes Macron.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)
