EU leaders to decide whether to give UK more time for Brexit

Ahead of her visit to Brussels, May made a speech on Wednesday in which she blamed British lawmakers for frustrating the Brexit process. Addressing the British public she said she recognized weariness with ongoing Brexit uncertainty and infighting and added, “I am on your side.” Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn is also in Brussels and is due to meet the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

David McAllister, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and chair of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, told CNBC in Brussels Thursday that May would have to present a good rationale to the EU for an extension.

“We have to get this British withdrawal from the EU done. And there are only three options now on the table, you ether leave the EU on the basis of a withdrawal agreement, you leave the EU without a withdrawal agreement or you revoke Article 50 (revoking the departure completely),” he told CNBC’s Willem Marx.

“The prime minister has asked to extend for a couple of weeks … but one thing is clear, she will only get the extension if she delivers a credible and convincing explanation.” He said it was possible the U.K. would have to leave the bloc on May 22, before the EU parliamentary elections, a view shared by Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank.

The economist noted Thursday that if the U.K. has still not clarified its intentions by the end of next week (whether another parliamentary vote on May’s Brexit deal is held or note), the EU might budge on granting more time.

“We would still expect the EU27 to grudgingly grant a Brexit delay at a special summit which would then have to be called for that purpose at the end of next week.”

“But the EU27 would then probably suggest a longer delay so that the U.K. has time to fundamentally re-think its Brexit approach – or perhaps Brexit itself – in a new “political process”. The risk of a political accident resulting in a hard Brexit on 29 March 2019 is not yet very high, but it is not negligible either. We put the overall risk for a hard Brexit at 15 percent,” he said.