This archive report was first published on 28 October 2019.
On October 28, 2019, the European Union announced that it would extend the Brexit deadline to January 31, 2020, giving Britain more time to pass the necessary legislation.
Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, made the announcement on Twitter, stating that the 27 other European Union countries had agreed to the postponement.
The delay is referred to as a 'flextension,' allowing Britain to leave the bloc before January 31 if the British Parliament passes all the relevant legislation.
Britain was originally scheduled to withdraw from the European Union on October 31, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been unable to get Parliament to approve the withdrawal terms negotiated with Brussels.
With the European Union granting an extension, the focus now shifts back to the British Parliament, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party and the opposition parties are jockeying frantically in advance of an expected election.
Mr. Johnson is expected to ask Parliament later Monday to schedule an election for December 12, but under a 2011 law, he would need the support of two-thirds of the House of Commons to do so.
