Don’t believe Juncker – he has no power to stop a Brexit delay if MPs vote for it
Jean-Claude Juncker: Did he say the EU will allow no more delays because he wants to be the president who got Brexit done?
Jean-Claude Juncker would like to go down in history as the President who saw the UK leave the EU, it seems.
He has said that, now a new Brexit delay has been forged with Boris Johnson’s government, no further attempts to prolong the UK’s membership of the bloc will be allowed.
There’s just one problem: he doesn’t have the power to say that.
If the UK petitions for a further delay – possibly to January 31 next year, it will be for the 27 other EU member states to decide, not a president whose term in office is nearly over.
b) Mr Juncker would love the Brexit process to be done and dusted during his presidency which is drawing to a close -as part of his legacy (which has to an extent been blighted by the 2016 Brexit vote) BUT /2
— Katya Adler (@BBCkatyaadler) October 17, 2019
Saying “no extension is necessary” in order to keep up pressure on MPs, encouraging them to focus their minds ahead of vote in Parliament is one thing BUT but after 3 years of Brexit process and two attempts at an EU-UK Brexit deal… /4
— Katya Adler (@BBCkatyaadler) October 17, 2019
A flat no to the idea of an extension at this stage could mean ushering in the no deal Brexit that EU leaders have been so so so keen to avoid. It’s not a move you’d expect from the EU! /6
— Katya Adler (@BBCkatyaadler) October 17, 2019
The most Mr Juncker’s outburst can be said to have done is flush out the biases of certain mainstream UK media reporters – if we didn’t already know what they were:
https://twitter.com/Mister_Woodo/status/1184843660371906561
Yeah, right! Government propaganda. Of course they’ll grant an extension. https://t.co/ZaKT0gfcYd
— MM (@2SpencerRoad) October 17, 2019
It seems clear that the deal will not win enough support in Parliament. Labour is against it…
And so we shouldn't. May's deal was bad enough for rights and workers. This is exponentially worse. https://t.co/b65OMo0zMk
— CrémantCommunarde #BeAPeacemonger ☮️ (@0Calamity) October 17, 2019
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has already spoken up against the deal.
It’s all falling apart around Boris Johnson, just when he hoped it was coming together.
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Similarly, Parliament cannot demand an extension. If I am correct, there has to be unanimous agreement, among the E.U.27, for an extension. I heard, today, one person saying that we would not get an extension, just because we want one. They have worked, hard, on two agreements and would not enter into another. Whether, or not this plays out is another matter but it is not certain, either way.
You are correct. Parliament can only request an extension. But it would be a matter of extreme discourtesy if the European Council refused such a request.
I realised something, after having seen/ heard that interview several times. I believe that he was making a joke at the Prime Minister’s expense. He said, “anyway, there will no prorogation.” Why use that word, specifically, if not to make a joke, which seems to have gone over the heads of B.B.C. journalists, certainly, of £aura Kuenssberg?
He said: “Anyway, there will be no proLONGation.”
I did hear that one too.
I did not hear him saying anything about prorogation. And I would have expected the media vultures to pick it over if it had been said.
Your headline is a little misleading. It would lead you to believe that the MPs are the only ones who decide on a delay. Obviously you state this is not the case in the body of the text. But if ANY on the 27 decide not to grant any delay requested then it won’t happen. Juncker DOES speak for the EU so I suppose he SHOULD know the mood of the leaders.
Whilst we can’t depend on a delay being granted, due to what has been said, we seem to be no further forward. Boris has a deal, but not one that anyone wants to vote for. So what’s the difference from when May was leader? The deal is slightly different and that is all. He has given ground to ensure he has SOMETHING to put in front of parliament and we should all be asking WHY he has done this. Is this just a device to ensure that the blame can be laid at someone else’s door when we leave without a deal?
I don’t doubt that he would try this, he lacks the intelligence to be scared of the consequences of breaking the law. He has lied over many things before, I don’t think he’d shy away from lying over this.
So you’re right, Juncker cannot PERSONALLY stop an extension, but likewise MPs cannot FORCE the EU to give them one.
Nothing has changed today, again there is no news but we are being told, again, that there is…
No, my headline wasn’t misleading. Jean-Claude Juncker has no power to stop a Brexit delay if MPs vote for it.