Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption May on Brexit extension: "The UK should have left the EU by now"

European Union leaders have granted the UK a six-month extension to Brexit, after late-night talks in Brussels.

The new deadline - 31 October - averts the prospect of the UK having to leave the EU without a deal on Friday, as MPs are still deadlocked over a deal.

European Council President Donald Tusk said his "message to British friends" was "please do not waste this time".

Theresa May, who had wanted a shorter delay, said the UK would still aim to leave the EU as soon as possible.

The UK must now hold European elections in May, or leave on 1 June without a deal.

The prime minister will later make a statement on the Brussels summit to the House of Commons, while talks with the Labour Party, aimed at reaching consensus on how to handle Brexit, are set to continue.

Mrs May tweeted: "The choices we now face are stark and the timetable is clear. So we must now press on at pace with our efforts to reach a consensus on a deal that is in the national interest."

So far, MPs have rejected the withdrawal agreement Mrs May reached with other European leaders last year and they have voted against leaving the EU without a deal.

The EU has ruled out any renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement.

Before the summit, Mrs May had told leaders she wanted to move the UK's exit date from this Friday to 30 June, with the option of leaving earlier if Parliament ratified her agreement.

What is the reaction in the UK?

For Labour, shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer called the delay to 31 October "a good thing", saying businesses would be "relieved".

He added: "Negotiations are in good faith. We all feel a deep sense of duty to break the impasse.

"But there's also this question of how on Earth do we ensure that anything this prime minister promises is actually delivered in the future because of course she's already said she's going to step down, probably within months."

One government minister told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg the latest delay to Brexit could mean a Conservative Party leadership contest after Easter, with a new prime minister potentially in place by June.

Former Brexit Secretary David Davis said: "There's been no progress whatsoever, really."

He added that it was still "difficult to see how" Mrs May could get her deal with the EU through Parliament and said: "The pressure on her to go will increase dramatically now, I suspect."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted her "relief" that the UK wouldn't be "crashing out" on Friday, adding that "allowing people to decide if they still want to leave is now imperative".

What was agreed?

A Brexit extension "only as long as necessary" and "no longer than 31 October" to allow for the ratification of the withdrawal agreement

The UK "must hold the elections to the European Parliament" and if it fails to do this, the UK will leave on 1 June

The European Council reiterates there can be no reopening of the withdrawal agreement negotiations

What was the EU's message?

Donald Tusk emerged from the talks - and a subsequent meeting with Mrs May - to address reporters at a news conference at 02:15 local time (01:15 BST).

"The course of action will be entirely in the UK's hands," he said. "They can still ratify the withdrawal agreement, in which case the extension can be terminated."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Tusk on Brexit extension: "Please do not waste this time"

Mr Tusk said the UK could also rethink its strategy or choose to "cancel Brexit altogether".

He added: "Let me finish with a message to our British friends: This extension is as flexible as I expected, and a little bit shorter than I expected, but it's still enough to find the best possible solution. Please do not waste this time."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: "There will probably be a European election in the UK - that might seem a bit odd, but rules are rules and we must respect European law and then we will see what happens."

What did Theresa May say?

Mrs May spoke at 02:45 local time (01:45 BST). She said that, although the delay extends until 31 October, the UK can leave before then if MPs pass her withdrawal deal.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC's Adam Fleming explains how the EU agreed a Brexit delay.

"I know that there is huge frustration from many people that I had to request this extension," she said. "The UK should have left the EU by now and I sincerely regret the fact that I have not yet been able to persuade Parliament to approve a deal."

She added: "I do not pretend the next few weeks will be easy, or there is a simple way to break the deadlock in Parliament. But we have a duty as politicians to find a way to fulfil the democratic decision of the referendum, deliver Brexit and move our country forward. Nothing is more pressing or more vital."

The PM said the UK would "continue to hold full membership rights and obligations [of the EU]" during the delay.

Trick or treat? Halloween deadline is both

You couldn't quite make it up. The new Brexit deadline is, you guessed it, Halloween.

So to get all the terrible metaphors about horror shows, ghosts and ghouls out of the way right now, let's consider straight away some of the reasons why this decision is a treat in one sense, but could be a trick too.

A treat? First and most importantly, the EU has agreed to put the brakes on. We will not leave tomorrow without a deal.

The prime minister's acceptance that leaving the EU without a formal arrangement in place could be a disaster won out.

And there are quite a few potential tricks. This new October deadline might not solve very much at all.

This could, although I hate to say it, just make way for months of extra gridlock before the UK and the EU find themselves back here in a similar situation in the autumn.

Read Laura's blog here

How did the EU leaders decide?

The EU had been split over the length of delay to offer the UK, and by law its other 27 member states had to reach a unanimous decision.

Although other countries backed a longer delay, French President Emmanuel Macron pushed for a shorter extension. He called the 31 October deadline "a good solution".

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption German Chancellor Angela Merkel had argued for a longer delay

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, said the extension gave the UK time "to come to a cross-party agreement".

Risk of no-deal postponed

Fudge and can-kicking are the EU-familiar words that spring to mind at the end of this Brexit summit.

After all the drama and speculation leading up to the meeting, effectively all that happened here is that the threat of a no-deal Brexit has been postponed for another six months.

Time enough for the EU to hold European parliamentary elections, choose a new president of the European Commission and pass a new budget - without EU leaders having to keep one eye at least on the day-to-day dramas in the House of Commons.

Despite EU leaders' rhetoric beforehand, they granted this extension without hearing a convincing plan of Brexit action from Theresa May.

In the summit conclusions there is no evidence of the punitive safeguards mooted to ensure the UK "behaves itself" - refraining from blocking EU decisions - as long as it remains a club member.

Yes, EU leaders worry about who might replace Theresa May as prime minister. Yes, they're concerned these six months could fly past with the UK as divided as ever but their message to the UK tonight was: "We've done our bit. Now you do yours. It's up to you. Please use the time well."</s>The UK is heading for a Halloween Brexit after the remaining 27 EU nations offered Theresa May a further six months to ratify or rethink her withdrawal deal.

The second extension to the Brexit process - initially intended to conclude on March 29 - definitively stopped the clock on a no-deal withdrawal on Friday with less than 48 hours to go.

In an early-hours press conference, European Council president Donald Tusk did not rule out further extensions beyond October.

-> Schools admission system ‘widens the gap between the rich and the poor’

And he sent a message to the UK: "This extension is as flexible as I expected, and a little bit shorter than I expected, but it's still enough to find the best possible solution.

"Please do not waste this time."

Addressing the press shortly before 2am, Mrs May said that she still wanted the UK to leave the EU "as soon as possible".

If a withdrawal deal could be ratified within the first three weeks of May, the UK could still avoid participation in that month's European Parliament elections and leave the EU in June, she said.

Acknowledging "huge frustration" among voters that the UK has not yet left the EU, she said: "The choices we now face are stark and the timetable is clear.

"So we must now press on at pace with our efforts to reach a consensus on a deal that is in the national interest."

Talks between the Government and Labour to find a compromise way forward will continue at official level on Thursday.

"I do not pretend the next few weeks will be easy or that there is a simple way to break the deadlock in Parliament," said Mrs May.

"But we have a duty as politicians to find a way to fulfil the democratic decision of the referendum, deliver Brexit and move our country forward. Nothing is more pressing or more vital."

-> Brexit: What on earth is going on?

The six-month extension was a compromise solution thrashed out in five hours of talks in Mrs May's absence, after French President Emmanuel Macron held out against a longer extension lasting into 2020.

Under the terms of the agreement, the UK can leave at any time if the Withdrawal Agreement reached last November is ratified by the Westminster Parliament.

If the UK fails to take part in elections to the European Parliament on May 23-26, it will automatically leave without a deal on June 1.

A review of progress will take place at the scheduled June 20 European Council summit in Brussels, but Mr Tusk stressed that this would be an opportunity for "taking stock" and not for any new negotiations.

The term of the current European Commission under Jean-Claude Juncker ends on October 31.

A UK exit by that date would get round the diplomatically awkward requirement for London to appoint a new Commissioner to his successor's team.

But asked whether a further extension might be possible, Mr Tusk replied: "Our intention is to finalise the whole process in October... but I am too old to exclude another scenario. I think still everything is possible."

-> Brexit will be the biggest national disaster since the war – Yorkshire Post letters

Mrs May gave a one-hour presentation setting out her case for an extension to June 30, with a break clause allowing the UK to leave as soon as her Withdrawal Agreement was ratified.

But she had to leave the EU27 to discuss the UK's future in her absence over a dinner of scallop soup and loin of cod.

It took five hours of wrangling before she was summoned back from the residence of UK ambassador Sir Tim Barrow at almost 1am Brussels time (12am BST) for her agreement to be sought.

She consulted Attorney General Geoffrey Cox by telephone before confirming that the new deal was acceptable.

The extension to the autumn will fuel demands from angry Tory backbenchers for Mrs May to resign and hand over to a new leader.

But senior British sources indicated that the PM intended to stand by her promise to the party's backbench 1922 Committee to stand down once the first phase of Brexit negotiations are complete.

A Halloween Brexit would mean the second phase - dealing with the future UK/EU trade and security relationship - would not get under way until late in the autumn.

Labour MP Mary Creagh, a supporter of the People's Vote campaign for a second referendum, said: "People across the UK will be relieved at this sensible extension.

"Parliament must agree tomorrow and MPs must move swiftly to break the Brexit deadlock with a confirmatory ballot on the PM's deal."

Sarah Wollaston, of The Independent Group, said an October 31 extension would provide just enough time to authorise and prepare for a referendum, though Parliament would have to move "quickly and decisively" to do it.

Labour's Jeremy Corbyn welcomed comments from Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar suggesting he is ready to contemplate a role for the UK in helping decide EU trade policies if it remains in a customs union after Brexit.

Mr Varadkar said it would be in the UK's interests to remain within the European trading bloc.

And he added: "It's also in our interest to have the UK to be in our bloc and I think we would be generous in understanding that the UK couldn't be a silent partner and would have to have a say in decisions being made."

A customs union arrangement with a British say on trade deals is a central plank of Labour's plan for Brexit.

Mr Corbyn responded with a tweet: "The Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar has confirmed this evening that Labour's alternative plan for a new customs union with a UK say on future trade deals is credible and deliverable."</s>Trick or treat? EU, UK agree to delay Brexit until Halloween

BRUSSELS (AP) — As if Brexit hadn't spooked Britain and the European Union enough over the past three years, the two sides agreed early Thursday to extend the deadline to Halloween.

The new, Oct. 31 cutoff date averts a precipitous and potentially calamitous Brexit that had been scheduled for Friday.

"Please, do not waste this time," European Council President Donald Tusk pleaded. He said the EU was giving Britain six more months "to find the best possible solution" to its Brexit impasse.

Like many things related to Brexit, the extension was a messy compromise. May came to an emergency summit in Brussels seeking to postpone Britain's departure from the EU until June 30. Some European leaders favored a longer extension, while French President Emmanuel Macron was wary of anything but a very short delay.

Leaders of the 27 remaining EU member states met for more than six hours over a dinner of scallop and cod before settling on the end of October, with the possibility of an earlier Brexit if Britain ratifies a withdrawal agreement.

May said the possibility of leaving before the deadline was a key request of hers.

"I continue to believe we need to leave the EU, with a deal, as soon as possible," she told reporters.

She noted that if U.K. lawmakers back her Brexit deal, Britain could still leave by June 30 — the Brexit deadline she had requested from the bloc — and possibly as soon as May 22, which would release Britain from having to participate in elections for the European Parliament.

May spoke to the 27 EU leaders for just over an hour, before they met for dinner without her to decide Britain's fate. In contrast to some testy recent summits, there were signs of warmth, even humor. May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were filmed laughing over a tablet bearing an image showing the two of them speaking to their respective Parliaments on Wednesday while wearing similar blue jackets.

While many leaders said they were inclined to grant a Brexit delay, Macron expressed reservations, warning as he arrived at the summit that "nothing is decided."

Afterward, the French president said he was satisfied with the outcome.

"We did the best possible compromise to preserve the unity of the 27 (other EU members) because we have left the United Kingdom more time to deliver a deal," Macron said.

Tusk said that during the extension Britain "will continue its sincere cooperation as a full member state, with all its rights, and as a close friend and trusted ally in the future."

Several months have passed since May and the EU struck a deal laying out the terms of Britain's departure and the outline of future relations. All that was needed was ratification by the British and European Parliaments.

But U.K. lawmakers rejected it — three times. As Britain's departure date of March 29 approached with no resolution in sight, the EU gave Britain until Friday to approve a withdrawal plan, change course and seek a further delay to Brexit, or crash out of the EU with no deal to cushion the shock.

Economists and business leaders have warned that a no-deal Brexit would lead to huge disruptions in trade and travel, with tariffs and customs checks causing gridlock at British ports and possible shortages of goods.

A disorderly Brexit would hurt EU nations, as well as Britain, and all want to avoid it — but there's little agreement about how.

May's future, meanwhile, is uncertain. She will address the U.K. Parliament later Thursday on the outcome of the summit.

She has previously said that "as prime minister" she could not agree to let Britain stay in the EU beyond June 30, and she has also promised to step down once Brexit is delivered. Many Conservative Party lawmakers would like her to quit now and let a new leader take charge of the next stage of Brexit. But they can't force her out until the end of the year, after she survived a no-confidence vote in December.

Every British initiative to get a deal has floundered so far. Several days of talks between May's Conservative government and the main opposition Labour Party aimed at finding a compromise have failed to produce a breakthrough. Labour favors a softer Brexit than the government has proposed, and wants to retain a close economic relationship with the bloc. The two sides said they would resume their discussions Thursday.

Now, the battle begins in Britain over what to do with the extra time.

All options from a no-deal Brexit to a general election to no Brexit at all remain on the table.

Pro-EU politicians said the next few months should be used to hold a new referendum on whether to leave the EU or remain. Labour lawmaker Mary Creagh tweeted that Parliament must move swiftly to break the Brexit deadlock with a confirmatory ballot on PMs deal."

Pro-Brexit lawmakers said it was time to replace May with another Conservative leader — preferably a hard-core Brexiteer.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the time had come for Britain to decide what it wants.

"We're giving them a very long time to take a decision," he said.

"You know, the European Union is not a prison. Nobody has to stay but it is also a home and we are not going to kick anyone out."

As to the symbolic end date? He said it was not on the minds of the EU leaders.

"As I learned this evening, Halloween is not a holiday widely celebrated across the European Union," Varadkar said.

Associated Press writers Mike Corder and Angela Charlton in Brussels, Gregory Katz and Danica Kirka in London and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.</s>Britain’s May seeks to sell new Brexit delay at home

London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May will try to convince her splintered country Thursday to accept a Brexit delay of up to six months she secured from EU leaders to the fury of many in her own party.

May’s 27 EU counterparts pulled another all-nighter in Brussels before clinching a compromise timetable for the unwinding of nearly half a century of ties that have been guiding many of Britain’s policies.

Britain will be able to leave before October 31 if its parliament manages to finally ratify the ill-loved deal May reached with the bloc and that has been behind all the political drama and anguish in London.

It could also still crash out on June 1 if it refuses to take part in European Parliament elections on May 23 — three years after Britons narrowly voted to leave in a referendum whose arguments echo to this day.

May will instead try to use the delay threat to secure votes from Brexit-backing lawmakers who keep voting against her because they view Britain’s current withdrawal terms as an abdication to Brussels.

“The EU have agreed that the extension can be terminated when the Withdrawal Agreement has been ratified,” May said.

“If we’re able to do that before May 22, then we won’t have to hold European parliamentary elections.”

The pound rose slightly in relief that the sides had managed to avoid a messy divorce that would have loomed had the current Brexit extension expired on Friday night without a new delay.

The delay avoids a possibly economic calamity on both sides of the Channel but does little to resolve the political morass that has seen May’s control over her Conservative Party and cabinet gradually slip.

Top anti-EU Conservatives lined up to take shots at their party leader while her Northern Irish coalition partners prepared for meetings in Brussels at which they could air their grievances with the plan.

“The pressure on her to go will increase dramatically, I suspect, now,” May’s former Brexit secretary David Davis told the BBC.

Right-wing MP Jacob Rees-Mogg also recalled May’s promise to lawmakers on March 20 that she was “not prepared to delay Brexit past June 30”.

“I thought the prime minister said a few weeks ago that she wouldn’t agree to any extension and now we are getting quite a long one,” Rees-Mogg said.

The party’s right wing fears that this delay might be prolonged yet again — and the extra time used to either water down the split between Britain and Europe even further or annul it outright.

EU Council Donald Tusk admitted in Brussels after the marathon meetings wound down that “everything is possible”.

“Our intention is to finalise the whole process in October… but I am too old to exclude another scenario,” Tusk told reporters.

May did get an unexpected boost in the shape of a tweet from US President Donald Trump — a leader whose protectionist agenda has him locking horns with Brussels over trade.

“Too bad that the European Union is being so tough on the United Kingdom and Brexit,” Trump wrote.

May last week decided to focus her energy on finding a compromise with the main opposition Labour Party that could help ease her deal through in time for Britain to leave without taking part in the European vote.

Downing Street said the talks would continue at a “technical” level on Thursday after making little progress in initial rounds.

Labour is primarily hoping to place Britain in a European customs union of some sort.

May had previously ruled this out because it prevents her from fulfilling the promise of striking lucrative independent trade agreements with giants such a China and the United States.

The talks have further outraged Conservatives and fuelled additional talk of attempts by her party’s right-wing to unseat her.

May has promised to step down once she delivers the first stage of Brexit — a timeline that could keep her in power until near the end of the year.

“But it is absolutely I think the case that there is growing discontent with her in her party,” said King’s College European politics professor Anand Menon.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if, after the local and European elections, we see some attempt to oust her and to replace her with another leader.”</s>BRUSSELS — The Latest on Britain’s exit from the European Union (all times local):

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she favors granting an extension of several months to the Brexit deadline.

Merkel told German lawmakers Wednesday that she will meet before the European Union summit later in the day with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken a hard line over recent weeks on Brexit.

Pressed on what kind of extension Germany backs, Merkel replied: “I favor, if there is a broad majority for this today, possibly making it a delay of several months — but not delaying anything, so that once Britain has decided the withdrawal can happen immediately.”

Britain is currently scheduled to leave the EU on Friday, with or without a deal. Prime Minister Theresa May has asked for a delay until June 30, and visited both Germany and France Tuesday to make her case.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has set out three conditions for a likely delay to Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Merkel addressed German lawmakers on Wednesday, hours before EU leaders meet in Brussels to decide whether to grant Britain’s request for a delay beyond the current Friday night deadline.

Merkel said the EU has “expectations” of Britain. She said that the EU’s institutions must be able to continue functioning “seamlessly” and that Britain must conduct elections to the European Parliament in late May.

She added that there also needs to be “a readiness to take part constructively in decisions.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the European Union may well decide on a longer Brexit delay than the one sought by the British government, but it would be flexible enough to allow Brexit “very quickly” once London approves the withdrawal agreement.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels later Wednesday to mull Prime Minister Theresa May’s request for Brexit to be delayed until June 30. If no extension is granted, Britain risks crashing out without a deal on Friday.

Merkel told German lawmakers that a disorderly Brexit “is not in our interest.”

She said of Wednesday’s outcome that “it may well be a longer extension than the one the British prime minister asked for, but we will shape this extension in such a way that whenever Britain has approved the withdrawal agreement, Britain can then complete its orderly withdrawal very shortly after” with a two-year transition period.

She didn’t specify exactly how long the extension might be.

The European Union’s legislature has warned British Prime Minister Theresa May to come to the Brexit summit with clear indications on how she hopes to turn the cross-party talks with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn into a success.

The European Parliament said in a statement Wednesday that May “cannot come empty-handed.”

And the legislators told the EU leaders that they have to make sure that Britain will not become obstructionist if a long extension to their departure is granted.

They said the summit “would be advised to provide the U.K. with an extension which should be appropriately framed to respect the principle of sincere cooperation.”

The European Parliament will need to approve any deal May reaches with the EU to make it binding.

Groups representing manufacturers in the U.K. and across the continent have appealed to European leaders to work with Britain to avoid a divorce from the bloc without a deal.

Make UK and sister organization Ceemet issued a joint letter to heads of state and chief negotiator Michel Barnier warning of economic shock in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The groups say that while they recognize efforts have been made to address the chaos that a no-deal scenario would cause, “it must be clear that neither the EU nor the UK are ready, and as a consequence European industry is also not adequately prepared, for this cliff edge scenario.”

Prime Minister Theresa May travels to Brussels Wednesday to ask for another extension to Britain’s departure, until June 30. Britain is currently scheduled to leave the EU on Friday.

European Council President Donald Tusk is meeting leaders including British Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of an emergency summit to decide whether to grant the United Kingdom a further delay in its departure from the European Union.

Donald Tusk meets the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, The Netherlands and finally May shortly before Wednesday evening’s summit begins.

It’s likely to be a rough day for the embattled British leader as she pleads for a second extension until June 30, to prevent Britain’s departure now scheduled for Friday.

Tusk has suggested an even longer delay of up to a year with conditions attached to ensure Britain does not stymie EU decision making if it remains a member.

EU countries have become increasingly exasperated with the political division and uncertainty in Britain.</s>PARIS/BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders will grant Prime Minister Theresa May a second delay to Brexit but they could demand she accepts a much longer extension as France pushed for conditions to limit Britain’s ability to undermine the bloc.

In a sign of just how far the three-year Brexit crisis has sapped British power, May dashed to Berlin and Paris to ask Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to allow the world’s fifth largest economy to put off its divorce from April 12.

While it was not immediately clear what Merkel and Macron, Europe’s two most powerful leaders, agreed with May, an advance draft of conclusions for Wednesday’s emergency EU summit said Britain would be granted another delay on certain conditions.

“The United Kingdom shall facilitate the achievement of the Union’s tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardize the attainment of the Union’s objectives,” read the draft seen by Reuters. As a full member state of the EU, Britain could in theory exercise a veto on any major policy decision.

May has asked the EU for a Brexit delay to June 30 but the draft left the end-date blank pending a decision by the other 27 national leaders on Wednesday in Brussels.

More than a week after Britain was originally supposed to leave the EU, May, the weakest British prime minister in a generation, has said she fears Brexit might never happen as she battles to get a divorce deal ratified by a divided parliament.

After her pledge to resign failed to get her deal over the line, she launched crisis talks with the opposition Labour Party in the hope of breaking the domestic deadlock.

“People are tired and fed up (with Britain’s indecision) - but what to do?” one EU diplomat said. “We won’t be the ones pushing the UK off the cliff edge.”

Another EU official involved with Brexit said no European power wanted the chaos that they fear a “no-deal” exit would sow through financial markets and the EU 27’s $16 trillion economy.

“Nobody wants to pull the plug by 13th April,” said the official. “But for how long - I don’t know. And France will ask a lot of questions in Brussels.”

But as May arrived at the Elysee Palace in Paris to a guard of honor, she was unable to trumpet any breakthrough with Labour.

Shortly before she landed in Paris, an official in Macron’s office said that “in the scenario of an extended delay, one year would seem too long for us”.

He added that if Britain did delay its exit, it should not take part in EU budget talks or in choosing the next president of the EU’s executive commission - and that the other 27 member states should be able to review its “sincere cooperation”.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Macron would not veto May’s extension but wanted conditions attached.

“He (Macron) certainly wants to know about conditionality, particularly the issue of the United Kingdom being involved in future (EU) decision-making,” Varadkar said.

Earlier in the day, May met Merkel at her riverside Chancellery, a short walk from Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, and departed with a warm exchange of kisses.

While they discussed Brexit, Germany’s opposition liberal FDP party drove an advertising van past the Chancellery with a slogan reading: “Dear Theresa May. Just do it. Stop Brexit. Make the most of Europe’s opportunities.”

Several EU diplomats said the 12-month extension proposed by European Council President Donald Tusk, who will chair the Wednesday summit, was unlikely to fly and several capitals had agreed with France that this would be too long, fearing a protracted distraction from other pressing EU business.

In London, British Solicitor General Robert Buckland said May would “listen carefully” to any constructive suggestions made by the EU on the length of the extension. He conceded that the government might not have managed to ratify an exit deal in parliament before European elections are held on May 23-26.

According to the draft conclusions, if Britain didn’t take part in EU parliamentary elections properly, it would have to leave on June 1, 2019.

The pound, which has seesawed so much on Brexit news that some investors have stepped away from the sterling market, rose and then dipped on speculation Merkel could offer May a better deal. Germany denied that. [GBP/]

The 2016 referendum revealed a United Kingdom split over much more than EU membership, and has sparked impassioned debate about everything from secession and immigration to capitalism, empire and what it means to be British.

Yet nothing is yet resolved.

Unable to convince enough of her own Conservatives of the merits of her deal to get it passed, May is courting socialist Jeremy Corbyn, whose Labour Party wants to keep Britain more closely tied to the bloc after Brexit.

Labour’s demands include keeping Britain in a customs union with the EU, something that is hard to reconcile with May’s desire for Britain to have an independent trade policy, and potentially a second referendum on any deal.

After Tuesday’s round of talks, Labour said it had not yet seen a clear shift in May’s stance.

“We had further detailed and wide-ranging talks with cabinet ministers and officials today,” a Labour spokesperson said. “We have yet to see the clear shift in the government’s position that is needed to secure a compromise agreement.”

A customs union with the EU, seen as the most likely area for compromise but so far resisted by May’s government, was the first item on the agenda for the talks, which were to include finance minister Philip Hammond. Talks resume on Thursday.

The idea of a softer Brexit is anathema to euroskeptics in May’s Conservative party who have helped to defeat her divorce deal three times this year.

Meanwhile, British lawmakers on Tuesday approved by a 420-110 margin May’s plan to seek to delay Brexit to June 30 while she tries to strike a compromise with Labour.

The government was forced to hold the vote after parliament passed a law on Monday giving themselves power to scrutinize and make changes to May’s request to extend the Article 50 negotiating period a second time.</s>These are external links and will open in a new window

Theresa May has told MPs it remains her "priority" to deliver Brexit, defending the decision to delay the UK's exit from the EU by more than six months.

The new deadline of 31 October, set following late-night talks in Brussels, means the UK is likely to have to hold European Parliament elections in May.

The prime minister promised to pursue an "orderly" Brexit, adding that the "whole country" was "frustrated".

Brexit was originally set to happen on 29 March. But after MPs repeatedly rejected Mrs May's withdrawal agreement with the EU, the deadline was put back to 12 April.

The new 31 October deadline averts the prospect of the UK having to leave the EU without a deal this Friday.
• What happens next?
• Trick or treat? Halloween deadline is both

But, under EU rules, the UK will have to hold European Parliament elections in May, or face leaving on 1 June without a deal.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Mrs May said she "profoundly" regretted her deal not being agreed to by MPs.

She said: "The whole country is intensely frustrated that this process of leaving the European Union has not been completed."

On the latest delay, she said: "The choices we face are stark and the timetable is clear. I believe we must now press on at pace with our efforts to reach a consensus on a deal that is in the national interest."

Mrs May also told MPs that backing her deal would mean there was no need for European Parliament elections.

The government is continuing to hold talks with Labour aimed at achieving a consensus on how to break the deadlock in Parliament.

Mrs May said: "Reaching an agreement will not be easy, because to be successful it will require both sides to make compromises.

"But however challenging it may be politically, I profoundly believe that in this unique situation where the House is deadlocked, it is incumbent on both front benches to seek to work together to deliver what the British people voted for."

In response, Mr Corbyn said: "The second extension in the space of a fortnight represents not only a diplomatic failure but is another milestone in the government's mishandling of the entire Brexit process."
• How could another Brexit referendum work?
• How UK is gearing up for European elections

He added: "The prime minister has stuck rigidly to a flawed plan and now the clock has run down, leaving Britain in limbo and adding to the deep uncertainty of business, workers and people all across this country."

Mr Corbyn said cross-party talks were "serious, detailed and ongoing", but warned that the government would "have to compromise".

If no agreement was possible, he said: "We believe all options should remain on the table, including the option of a public vote."

What happens next?

Shortly - Talks continue between the Conservatives and Labour on how to end the Brexit impasse

2 May - Local elections take place in England and Northern Ireland

23 May - European Parliament elections are scheduled to happen in the UK, if MPs do not back Theresa May's agreement with the EU in time to avert them

31 October - The UK leaves the EU, unless MPs back the withdrawal agreement in advance of this deadline

Ian Blackford, the SNP's Westminster leader, urged Mrs May to use the extra time to hold a second EU referendum.

"It's now a very real possibility that we can remain in the European Union," he said.

"As of today, there are 204 days until the new Brexit deadline on the 31 October, so will the prime minister now remove the ridiculous excuse that there isn't enough time to hold a second referendum with remain on the ballot paper?"

Brexiteer Conservative MP Sir Bill Cash accused the prime minister of "abject surrender" to the EU in allowing the delay and said she should resign.

Before the Brussels summit, Mrs May had told leaders she wanted to move the UK's exit date from this Friday to 30 June, with the option of leaving earlier if Parliament ratified her agreement.

What was agreed in Brussels?
• A Brexit extension "only as long as necessary" and "no longer than 31 October" to allow for the ratification of the withdrawal agreement
• The UK "must hold the elections to the European Parliament" and if it fails to do this, the UK will leave on 1 June
• The European Council reiterates there can be no reopening of the withdrawal agreement negotiations

European Council President Donald Tusk said future developments were "entirely in the UK's hands", adding: "They can still ratify the withdrawal agreement, in which case the extension can be terminated."

Mr Tusk said the UK could also rethink its strategy or choose to "cancel Brexit altogether", but urged: "Please do not waste this time."

The EU had been split over the length of delay to offer the UK, and by law its other 27 member states had to reach a unanimous decision.</s>BRUSSELS – Frustrated European leaders abandoned hope Thursday that Britain would sort its departure from the European Union anytime soon, setting aside a proposal by Prime Minister Theresa May for a short delay and offering to extend Brexit until Oct. 31.

The deal would avoid a chaotic departure by Britain on Friday. It also almost certainly would lock Britain into elections for the European Parliament next month, which May has struggled mightily to avoid.

May – who still needed to consent to the deal – wanted an extension to June 30 to seal a deal with her own divided lawmakers. The European leaders – talking Brexit for at least the 18th time and exasperated by Brexit “emergency summits” – wanted to free themselves from the chaos of British politics.

The Oct. 31 extension could end early if British lawmakers sign on to the EU’s unpopular terms of departure. Leaders also said they would review the membership in June and kick Britain out early if London shows bad faith.

May sat down with the EU leaders and was peppered with 45 minutes of questions to which she had few answers.

They were openly skeptical that her negotiations back home with the opposition Labour Party would produce a winning compromise.

Then her counterparts ushered her out of their conclave, so they could trade views about just how harsh they wanted to be. They argued into the Brussels night as May cooled her heels at the residence of the British ambassador to the European Union. Finally, they called her back to deliver their offer.

Even their reprieve was the result of a compromise among the European leaders, with French President Emmanuel Macron and several others favoring harsher terms that could have cut Britain loose sooner. Leaders could reset the clock any time before the proposed Halloween deadline.

At the summit, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven reflected widespread Brexit fatigue. “There is a frustration,” Lofven confessed. “We’ve spent a lot of time, a lot of energy, on this issue, and we have so many important issues on the agenda that we need to get on with.”

Because May hasn’t passed her deal, because her own party members loathe it and vote against it at every opportunity, Britain now finds itself in limbo.

It will stay in the bloc – and is still on the hook for membership dues – but its voice will be muffled. British members of European Parliament might make some mischief, as threatened by hardline Brexiteers, but London will have little sway in Brussels.

European leaders stressed that they will not reopen the withdrawal agreement itself, which covers the payouts and terms of the divorce.

Nor will they budge on a guarantee to keep the Irish border open and mostly invisible.

And no future trade deal between the U.K. and EU will be negotiated until the withdrawal deal is inked, the Europeans say.

Those restrictions – which give stomach cramps to many British lawmakers – are nearly unavoidable, EU diplomats said. Even if Britain declares that it wants to leave without a deal, the next demand from the Europeans will focus on the core of what U.K. negotiators already agreed on: cash, the Irish border and the rights of EU citizens in Britain.

Asked by reporters whether she was “embarrassed” to be seeking another delay, the British leader said she understood that many people would be frustrated by the need for an emergency summit.

She blamed the British Parliament for rejecting the withdrawal agreement. And she said she hoped British lawmakers would pass the exit deal before the end of May, so Britain would not need to participate in the European Parliament elections.

Pressed, May declined to say whether she would resign as prime minister if Britain stays in the EU beyond June.

France’s Macron appeared impatient to expel Britain from the bloc and move on, noting repeatedly that British voters opted 34 months ago to leave. “The time for decision is now,” he said. “It’s with lots of impatience that I am going to listen to Theresa May. But for me, nothing is a given, nothing.”

Macron expressed his concern that Britain not be a spoiler while it remained an EU member. “What is indispensable for us is that nothing can compromise the European project in the following months,” the French president said. “We have a European renaissance to implement, and I do not want the issue of Brexit to block us at this point.”

Back in Britain, Parliament is deadlocked, May’s party is divided, her Cabinet is mutinous – filled with ministers who want her job.

Britain was originally to leave the EU on March 29. Hardcore Brexiteers are furious at the idea of yet another delay – and at the idea that the country is preparing for European Parliament elections next month. They say they are willing to see Britain break away with no deal, no transition period, no safety net.

But the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday that a no-deal Brexit could lead to a two-year recession for Britain. And European leaders were in no mood to invite further economic or political instability.

“We need to have a good relationship with each other, also in the future,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the outset of the meeting. She hoped to find “an orderly exit for Great Britain.”

Meanwhile, May’s talks with the opposition Labour Party to forge a compromise deal that could win approval in the divided House of Commons have yet to produce any breakthroughs. Labour and Conservative leaders described the negotiations as “productive,” but opposition negotiators have complained that May was not moving far from her red lines. The sides were not meeting Wednesday, but say they will return to talks Thursday.

EU diplomats said those talks barely figured into their planning – because they don’t expect much to come of them.

Despite the seriousness of the meeting, there appeared to be less tension than at a summit last month, when May had several icy exchanges with leaders as they sat down to discuss Britain’s fate, including a chilly double-cheek-peck with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg.

On Wednesday, May shared uproarious laughter with Merkel after the German leader showed her what a diplomat clued in on the joke said were pictures of the two leaders speaking to their parliaments earlier in the day, wearing similar blue jackets.

The conversation afterward was tougher, with leaders pressing May about her political strategy, the chances she might strike a bargain with her opponents and her commitment to not obstructing EU business if Britain remains in the bloc, other diplomats said.
• Video said to show British soldiers firing at Corbyn picture
• May’s party furious with her Brexit pivot to Labour
• In latest Brexit move, Theresa May pivots to Labour Party
• House of Commons rejects all four Brexit proposals
• Leave supporters march in London in support of Brexit Some of the leaders were frustrated that May didn’t offer a realistic way forward. Others said they felt that they finally understood her goals.

After May left the room, leaders’ dinner conversation focused on ways to limit Britain’s influence in the EU if it sticks around.

In the coming months, the EU is expected to replace its slate of senior Brussels officials and begin talking about a new multiyear budget, areas where an adversarial Britain could stir up trouble. Oct. 31, the date picked for the final goodbye, is also the last day the current European commissioners are expected to serve in their jobs.

The Washington Post’s Quentin Aries contributed to this report.</s>The Latest on Britain's exit from the European Union (all times local):

Some European leaders say they are inclined to grant British Prime Minister Theresa May's request to push back the U.K.'s deadline for leaving the European Union.

Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas says the EU "must do all that we can" to prevent the U.K. being out of the EU without a withdrawal deal or transition period, which could happen Friday if Brexit is not postponed.

Ratas says "of course" Estonia will support an extension.

Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins says if Britain is asking for more time, "I think we should consider giving them time."

May has asked to push Brexit back until June 30, but many in the EU favor a delay of up to a year to give British politicians more time to break the country's political impasse on Brexit.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said that "for me, the proposal to last until the end of March next year is fine."

But French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that "nothing is decided."

French President Emmanuel Macron says "nothing is yet decided" on whether and how long of a Brexit delay to offer Britain.

Macron is seen as the European leader most strongly opposed to British Prime Minister Theresa May's request for another delay to the U.K.'s exit from the European Union.

While others expressed their willingness to grant an extension until June 30 or even next year, Macron said Wednesday at a Brexit summit in Brussels that "nothing is decided."

Upon arriving at the summit, Macron insisted on "clarity" from May about what Britain wants, and said "nothing should compromise the European project."

British Prime Minister Theresa May has signaled she is ready to accept a long delay to Brexit if other European Union leaders insist, as long as the U.K. has the option of leaving earlier if lawmakers ratify an EU divorce deal.

Arriving at an emergency Brexit summit in Brussels on Wednesday, May said she "greatly regrets" the U.K. hasn't left the EU yet. Other European leaders at the summit are discussing her request to push back the departure date to June 30 to give Britain's feuding politicians more time to approve divorce terms.

May said: "What is important is that any extension enables us to leave at the point at which we ratify the withdrawal agreement."

She says she's hopeful that could be by May 22.

The Czech Republic's prime minister says he supports European Council President Donald Tusk's proposal to grant Britain a longer delay than it has requested for its departure from the European Union.

British Prime Minister Theresa May travels to Brussels to attend an EU summit Wednesday seeking for another extension to Britain's departure, until June 30. Britain is currently scheduled to leave the EU on Friday.

Tusk has suggested a delay of up to a year, with conditions attached to ensure Britain does not stymie EU decision-making while it remains a member.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis says that Tusk's plan would "calm down the situation" and also give Britain time enough to decide what it wants to do.

EU countries have become increasingly exasperated with the political division and uncertainty in Britain.

French government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye is warning that the risk of a no-deal Brexit still exists ahead of a European Union summit.

Ndiaye said the issue has been brought up during the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday at the Elysee palace, as President Emmanuel Macron was about to head to Brussels for the summit.

"The no-deal option is obviously the one we would least want ... there's actually a risk and France is prepared", she said.

Ndiaye said that France is open to granting an extension to the Brexit deadline but "this is not automatic." France wants a "clear and credible prospect" from Britain and commitments not to endanger the EU institutions, she said.

She declined to provide details on what kind of extension France considers acceptable.

Britain is currently scheduled to leave the EU on Friday, with or without a deal.

Britain's pro-Brexit political parties are getting ready to do something they have long argued against — running in European Union elections.

Anti-EU figurehead Nigel Farage says his newly formed Brexit Party will run in the elections. He says the contest will bring "a rebirth of active Euroscepticism," driven by Britons' anger at the failure to leave the EU.

Farage's former party, UKIP, also says it will run candidates in all parts of the U.K.

Brexiteers have condemned Prime Minister Theresa May for seeking to postpone the U.K.'s departure because she has failed to get Parliament's approval for her EU withdrawal agreement.

May is asking for a delay until June 30, though the EU could offer longer. That means Britain would have to participate in late-May elections for the European Parliament — almost three years after the country voted to leave the bloc.

Brexit? What Brexit? British lawmakers have for the most part avoided the hot-button topic of the day during the prime minister's weekly appearance before Parliament.

Prime Minister Theresa May didn't face the usual level of harsh questioning during the Wednesday session just hours ahead of a vital European Union summit in Brussels.

She was asked more questions about tax policy and police funding than about her request for a delay in Britain's April 12 departure from the EU.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn did not bring up Brexit, and many lawmakers shied away from the usual bickering as May prepares to ask the EU for an extension.

May did say her position on holding a second EU referendum has not changed, meaning she is still opposed.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she favors granting an extension of several months to the Brexit deadline.

Merkel told German lawmakers Wednesday that she will meet before the European Union summit later in the day with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken a hard line over recent weeks on Brexit.

Pressed on what kind of extension Germany backs, Merkel replied: "I favor, if there is a broad majority for this today, possibly making it a delay of several months — but not delaying anything, so that once Britain has decided the withdrawal can happen immediately."

Britain is currently scheduled to leave the EU on Friday, with or without a deal. Prime Minister Theresa May has asked for a delay until June 30, and visited both Germany and France Tuesday to make her case.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has set out three conditions for a likely delay to Britain's departure from the European Union.

Merkel addressed German lawmakers on Wednesday, hours before EU leaders meet in Brussels to decide whether to grant Britain's request for a delay beyond the current Friday night deadline.

Merkel said the EU has "expectations" of Britain. She said that the EU's institutions must be able to continue functioning "seamlessly" and that Britain must conduct elections to the European Parliament in late May.

She added that there also needs to be "a readiness to take part constructively in decisions."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the European Union may well decide on a longer Brexit delay than the one sought by the British government, but it would be flexible enough to allow Brexit "very quickly" once London approves the withdrawal agreement.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels later Wednesday to mull Prime Minister Theresa May's request for Brexit to be delayed until June 30. If no extension is granted, Britain risks crashing out without a deal on Friday.

Merkel told German lawmakers that a disorderly Brexit "is not in our interest."

She said of Wednesday's outcome that "it may well be a longer extension than the one the British prime minister asked for, but we will shape this extension in such a way that whenever Britain has approved the withdrawal agreement, Britain can then complete its orderly withdrawal very shortly after" with a two-year transition period.

She didn't specify exactly how long the extension might be.

The European Union's legislature has warned British Prime Minister Theresa May to come to the Brexit summit with clear indications on how she hopes to turn the cross-party talks with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn into a success.

The European Parliament said in a statement Wednesday that May "cannot come empty-handed."

And the legislators told the EU leaders that they have to make sure that Britain will not become obstructionist if a long extension to their departure is granted.

They said the summit "would be advised to provide the U.K. with an extension which should be appropriately framed to respect the principle of sincere cooperation."

The European Parliament will need to approve any deal May reaches with the EU to make it binding.

Groups representing manufacturers in the U.K. and across the continent have appealed to European leaders to work with Britain to avoid a divorce from the bloc without a deal.

Make UK and sister organization Ceemet issued a joint letter to heads of state and chief negotiator Michel Barnier warning of economic shock in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The groups say that while they recognize efforts have been made to address the chaos that a no-deal scenario would cause, "it must be clear that neither the EU nor the UK are ready, and as a consequence European industry is also not adequately prepared, for this cliff edge scenario."

Prime Minister Theresa May travels to Brussels Wednesday to ask for another extension to Britain's departure, until June 30. Britain is currently scheduled to leave the EU on Friday.

European Council President Donald Tusk is meeting leaders including British Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of an emergency summit to decide whether to grant the United Kingdom a further delay in its departure from the European Union.

Donald Tusk meets the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, The Netherlands and finally May shortly before Wednesday evening's summit begins.

It's likely to be a rough day for the embattled British leader as she pleads for a second extension until June 30, to prevent Britain's departure now scheduled for Friday.

Tusk has suggested an even longer delay of up to a year with conditions attached to ensure Britain does not stymie EU decision making if it remains a member.

EU countries have become increasingly exasperated with the political division and uncertainty in Britain.</s>So the financial markets judged the Brexit - Britain’s so far failed attempt to leave the European Union, correctly. The ‘no deal’ Brexit that would have seen the United Kingdom crashing out of the EU tomorrow, without any transition agreement, is not going to happen. It would have been a disaster: Brexit Black Friday On April 12th

Indeed, the Brexit is now to be postponed until Halloween, October 31st, unless of course a further extension to the deadline is agreed, or a deal is done before then. That was the result of a late-night meeting of the 27 heads of state of the members of the EU, except the UK, on Wednesday.

Observers around the world have become totally bemused by this extraordinary exercise in democracy that began almost three years ago with a narrow win for the Brexit in a referendum of all British citizens, excluding the three million who live abroad (who might well have voted to stay in the EU). Since then the British Prime Minister Theresa May has personally negotiated a tortuous withdrawal agreement with the EU. This same agreement has now been rejected three times by a large majority by the House of Commons, the British parliament whose ratification is required for it to become law.

It is a democratic impasse unknown in modern times in the UK, that likes to reckon itself the mother of all modern democracies. How will this be resolved over the next six months? The omens are not particularly good. Cross-party talks will continue to try to find a compromise deal that could get through the House of Commons. But any deal that comes out of such talks will necessarily alienate sections of the two parties involved and risk falling flat again in an open vote.

Still, that will be the first objective if the UK is to avoid having to take part in the European Parliament elections being held on May 23rd. But that only allows six weeks. Given that any deal reached between the parties may well include a second referendum (the opposition Labour Party’s official policy is for a people’s vote on any final deal), this looks almost impossible. European Council President Donald Tusk asked the UK ‘not to waste this time’ in his final communique last night. However, all the evidence to date - and it is almost three years since the referendum - suggests this is the most likely course of events.

For the time being though Britain remains a full member of the European Union. At some stage its political system will come to a decision on what to do next. But for the moment that looks unlikely, with no consensus on the way forward. Even holding a General Election would not necessarily provide a coherent path ahead given the large number of conflicting options available; and that election itself is improbable as polls show the ruling Conservative Party would likely suffer a catastrophic defeat and so would not call it unless forced to do so by parliament.

When the next European Summit is held in June, then it would surprise nobody if a further extension for the UK Brexit was on the table. Perhaps this is an issue just too complicated for a decision by the British political system and one will never actually be made. Support for a petition to revoke Article 50 and cancel the Brexit altogether reached a record-breaking six million last month. Could it be the future is no Brexit at all? Mrs. May warned her lawmakers often enough that failure not to pass her deal carried this risk.

In the meantime, the Brexit hangs like a black cloud over the EU, even it has not actually been implemented. For the UK it means delayed investment plans, reduced foreign direct investment, and a significantly lower exchange rate than without it. The financial heart of the EU is stuck in political paralysis. On the positive side, the EU 27’s remaining members (well still 28 as it happens) are more united than ever. They have displayed unity of purpose and intent in dealing with the UK through this difficult period.

If they can hold on to their second largest member by GDP, then there must surely be a good contrarian argument for US investors to look at top European shares while they sell on price-to-earnings ratios well below US stocks and with the US dollar so strong against the euro. This crisis is an opportunity to buy quality assets cheaply. BMW? Mercedes? Rolls Royce? There is a lot of quality among European companies.

Indeed, from the global macro point of view, this could be the best strategic opportunity today. The EU28 are after all an economic bloc with a $16 trillion GDP, ahead of China and second only to the USA whose leadership could easily be lost on the next big currency swing. Investing in this huge economy when its fortunes are down could be the contrarian play of the decade. The idea of selling Wall Street and buying the EU might sound like madness but whose stocks are trading near record valuation levels? Is selling high and buying low not what intelligent investors do?

Imagine if the EU28 (including the UK) really got their act together, or just muddled forward to a better stage of the business cycle. As Warren Buffett says: 'Be greedy when others are fearful!'

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
The United Kingdom and European Union agree to delay Brexit until October 31, 2019. This means that the UK will participate in next month's European Parliament election.