Brexit could be delayed beyond March to give extra time for a fresh referendum or another general election, a former EU official has claimed.
The former Eurogroup president and Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said that the deadlock behind negotiations may continue for some time. In a blog post on LinkedIn he said that ‘there won’t be a Brexit deal this week… or even next month’.
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He said: ‘Extra time is inevitable. It is needed to work out any serious deal, it’s necessary to avoid a vote in the British parliament in the short run.’
Dijsselbloem said that the extra time would allow for a new election in the UK or even a People’s Vote.
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‘It also may be necessary to allow for new elections or a second referendum if the deal gets rejected in the medium term, which still seems pretty likely.’
He added: ‘The decision to stop the clock won’t come until the very last minute.
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‘It won’t be the first time that time has provided us with solutions in times of European crises.’
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