Tusk urges EU Parliament to be open to long Brexit extension

cde.news desk 27 March 2019, 10:27 · 1 min read

epa07188890 European Union Council President Donald Tusk gives a press conference at the end of the European Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 25 November 2018. The leaders of the 27 remaining EU member countries (EU27) have endorsed the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement and approved the draft political declaration on future EU-UK relations in a special meeting of the European Council on Britain leaving the EU under Article 50. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER HOSLET

Donald Tusk, who chairs summits of EU leaders, urged the European Parliament be open to a long Brexit extension, said on Wednesday, telling lawmakers they should not ignore Britons who wanted their country to remain in the European Union.

The head of the European Council said one cannot betray the six million people who signed the petition to revoke Article 50, the one million people who marched for a People’s Vote, or the increasing majority of people who want to remain in the European Union,” said.

In a tweet released just after his short speech, he added that the parliament should be open to a long extension if Britain wished to rethink its strategy.

Appeal to EP: You should be open to a long extension, if the UK wishes to rethink its strategy. 6 million people signed the petition, 1 million marched. They may not feel sufficiently represented by UK Parliament but they must feel represented by you. Because they are Europeans.

— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) March 27, 2019