EU president Juncker says he 'rules out' further Brexit delay

Decision on whether to grant Article 50 extension not down to European Commission chief

The president of the European Commission has insisted there can be no further delay to Brexit now that a new deal has be struck by the UK.

Jean-Claude Juncker said there would not be "any kind of prolongation" to Brexit and that "it has to be done now".

Whether an Article 50 extension is granted is not down to Mr Juncker, but would instead be decided by EU leaders.
 
The 27 heads of state and government were due to discuss whether an extension was necessary before negotiating teams announced a deal had been struck on Thursday morning. 

The UK is currently due to leave on 31 October with or without a deal, unless an extension can be secured. Mr Johnson says he will not seek an extension, though UK law may force him to ask for one.

"We have concluded a deal and so there is not an argument for further delay. It has to be done now," Mr Juncker told reporters on the doorstep of the European Council summit in Brussels.

"We have a deal. The British prime minister has to make sure that the deal will pass the hurdles of Westminster. I have to make sure it will pass the hurdles of the European Parliament, that's all."

He continued: "I gave a brief doorstep with Boris Johnson at the Berlaymont half an hour ago and I was ruling out that there will be any kind of prolongation. If we have a deal, we have a deal, and there is no need for prolongation. That's the British view, that's my view too."

The Commission president's claim that no extension is on the cards appears designed to put pressure on MPs to vote for a deal.

Asked whether he thought the agreement would pass the House of Commons, Mr Juncker replied: "I'm not in charge of parliamentary affairs of Britain. I'm satisfied that we were able to find a deal but I'm sad about the fact that Britain is leaving the European Union."

Crucially, the DUP has ruled out out voting for the treaty – meaning it is unlikely to pass in any case because of the tight numbers of parliament.

Despite Downing Street's insistence that the deal could get through parliament before 31 October, it would be unprecedented for such a major international treaty to pass parliament in such a short time – raising the prospect that an extension might be required anyway.

A senior EU official said this morning: “We were told in 2018 by the UK government that the ratification process takes six months, at the beginning of 2019 we were told that it takes six weeks, and the latest is that a few days is more than enough.”