British Prime Minister Theresa May asked the European Union to delay Britain’s departure from the bloc until June 30, now scheduled for April 12, and conceded that the country was preparing to take part in European Parliament elections.
"The United Kingdom proposes that (the extension) should end on June 30 2019. If the parties are able to ratify before this date, the government proposes that the period should be terminated earlier," May wrote in a letter to EU Council president Donald Tusk.
May also told Tusk in a letter that Britain would start preparing for its participation in European Parliament elections in case it is still a member of the bloc when they begin on May 23.
The prime minister’s Brexit deal has already been rejected three times by British lawmakers, and there is likely to be a lively debate in Brussels on whether to grant a second extension. Britain was originally scheduled to leave the bloc on March 29, but European leaders granted a short extension to give Parliament more time to approve the withdrawal deal, the New York Times reported.
