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Although contentious, the opinion from the European Parliament’s legal service potentially addresses a significant obstacle to Britain asking to delay Brexit beyond July 2, the inauguration date of the new assembly following the elections due in May.
“The possibility for the European Parliament to be validly constituted following the 2019 elections would not be affected by a potential failure by the UK to organise elections,” the paper states, according to a copy leaked to the Financial Times.
Without elections, the UK’s existing MEPs would remain until the new parliament was put together on July 2. In the new assembly, Britain would not have any seats. The other member states would have the same number of MEPs as now, with the chamber being reorganised only once Britain had left the EU.
Senior EU officials believe Britain will seek to extend the timetable for its departure, scheduled for March 29, because it will run out of time to approve an exit deal or pass all the legislation needed for ratification. The Brexit deal Theresa May, Britains’ prime minister, negotiated with the bloc was overwhelmingly rejected by the UK parliament on Tuesday.
If the EU27 granted an extension request, Britain would potentially need to take part in the May elections. That possibility has been a big factor in considerations of the length of any extension and is also a constraint on those campaigning for a second referendum in the UK, given the time needed to organise and legislate for such a vote.
But some lawyers at the European Commission and European Council are sceptical that Britain could avoid electing MEPs without fatally undermining the authority of the new parliament and the subsequent decisions it would take, including the scheduled approval of a new European Commission in 2019.
One senior EU diplomat said it would be “unthinkable” that Britain could still be a member state without holding elections and sending MEPs to Strasbourg. “That would bring the risk of an illegally composed European Parliament,” the diplomat said. [...]
Full article on Financial Times (subscription required)