The fate of Brexit is now in the hands of 27 EU leaders

The U.K. is about to face a crucial crossroad in the Brexit saga and the country will have little say over its own fate.

On Wednesday night, 27 prime ministers and presidents from across the European Union will gather for special Brexit summit.

They will have two broad options — and both have seismic consequences for the U.K. and beyond.

The leaders could reluctantly offer another extension to when Brexit will happen, meaning Britain would not leave the E.U. for at least another few weeks and perhaps even an entire year. Brexit was initially scheduled for March 29.

If they refuse to offer British Prime Minister Theresa May a delay, her country will crash out of Europe without a deal on Friday, leaving the U.K. floundering without any international trade agreements.

It is the second delay requested by May. She has asked for more time because the plan she negotiated with the E.U. has on three occasions been unable to win enough support among U.K. lawmakers. It also has threatened to tear apart her ruling Conservative Party.

In a rare and extremely belated moment of bipartisanship, May reached out to Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to try to find a solution that would end the parliamentary gridlock, but those talks have yet to yield any concrete results.

After days of shuttle-diplomacy around Europe, the prime minister is set to present her case to the bloc’s leaders Wednesday, which will be held in the futuristic cube that is Brussels’ Europa Building.

European Council president Donald Tusk said the EU should consider offering the UK a “flexible” delay to Brexit of up to a year, with the option of leaving earlier if a deal is ratified.

He said there was “little reason to believe” a Brexit deal would be approved by the extension deadline UK PM Theresa May has requested – 30 June.

Writing to EU leaders, he said any delay should have conditions attached.
It is up to EU members to vote on the proposals at a summit on Wednesday.
Via NBC News and BBC