President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has ruled out another delay to Brexit, declaring that “we have a deal” and there is no need for a further extension to the intractable process.
London and Brussels agreed a new Brexit deal on Thursday morning with both sides lauding the achievement. UK PM Boris Johnson is still facing the prospect of being forced to ask for an extension from the EU if British MPs fail to back the agreement in the House of Commons on Saturday.
However, on the subject of an extension request, Juncker told reporters in Brussels that no further delays would be granted.
We have a deal. So why should we have a prolongation (extension)?
In reality, Juncker does not have the power to unilaterally refuse a request from the UK government for another extension to Article 50; that decision rests with the 27 EU leaders.
Asked what happens if UK MPs vote down the new agreement on Saturday, Junker simply replied: “I’m not in charge of Westminster.”
Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a key ally of Johnson’s government, has rejected the deal and stated that their MPs will vote against it. The party is upset that the deal doesn’t include a unionist veto in Northern Ireland’s Assembly.
It means Johnson may struggle to gain the support of 320 MPs, the threshold required to win the vote, barring any abstentions. He’ll be hoping that he can convince enough former Tory ‘rebels,’ as well as Labour MPs who represent ‘Leave’ constituencies, to back his deal.
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