Ursula von der Leyen, who’s likely to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as EU Commission President, has said she’s open to extending Brexit talks past the 31st October deadline, a letter allegedly seen by The Independent reveals.
The missive, written to the leaders of the socialist and liberal groups in the European Parliament, states she’d support a further extension “if good reasons are provided” and “should more time be required” beyond the current Halloween cut-off.
“I very much regret the UK has decided to leave the EU, but I fully respect this decision. Brexit creates uncertainty for citizens’ rights, economic and territorial actors, and for stability and peace on the Island of Ireland. If elected I’m ready to pave the way to the ambitious and strategic partnership we want to build with the UK,” she wrote.
Unpopular Stance
The letter is sure to be received warmly by remainers, but will likely be unpopular with EU member state leaders. For instance, Irish premier Leo Varadkar said in June his fellow leaders had run out of patience with London. As a result, von der Leyen’s pledges may be hollow - a decision on an extension of the deadline can only be made with their consent, and moreover she’d only take office 1st November, the day after the deadline elapses.
The former Baader-Meinhof target also made abundantly clear she’d not change the deal agreed to by Theresa May, despite it being defeated thrice by MPs, calling it “the best and only possible deal for an orderly withdrawal”.
Tory leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson has said he'd withdraw the UK from the EU on 31st October “or die”, despite leaked cautions from civil servants that the UK isn’t prepared for a no deal departure on that date. He's suggested withholding payment of the country’s financial settlement to compel Brussels back to the negotiating table.
His rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, has claimed there's a prospect of doing a better deal with the EU, and favours changes to May's deal, and thinks it's possible to achieve them made by 31st October. If there is a prospect of renegotiation, Hunt's prepared to delay Brexit beyond the deadline, but hasn't ruled out a no deal divorce, albeit with "a heavy heart".
