EU DIVIDED
May, as she prepares for further parliamentary votes on Thursday on the question of extension beyond the March 29 withdrawal date, has said she could seek an extension to June 30 if lawmakers back her deal next week. But she would seek a much longer delay rather than leave without a deal.
EU discussion of a very long extension to the two-year deadline could bolster May's tactic of using that as a threat to persuade hardline Brexit supporters to back her deal rather than risk Britain not leaving the EU at all.
EU officials say many in Brussels and in national capitals are in two minds about delaying Brexit. Many feel the process is distracting the bloc from more pressing business and its May elections. But none relish the risk that Britain might end up leaving chaotically without a deal.
The prospect of Britain returning lawmakers to the European Parliament is also a divisive issue. The centre-right European People's Party (EPP), to which Merkel belongs, has no British member as May's Conservatives broke away a decade ago. The return of British Labour lawmakers to the chamber could push the centre-left close to parity with the EPP, according to polls.
A British EU election would also bolster the presence of anti-EU forces in the parliament, a development Macron, Merkel and others would prefer to avoid.
In a reply to Tusk's tweet, Guy Verhofstadt, the liberal leader and Brexit coordinator in the European Parliament, hardened his calls for Britain to be cast out as soon as possible unless its lawmakers can agree on a clear strategy.
"Under no circumstances an extension in the dark!" he tweeted. "Unless there is a clear majority in the House of Commons for something precise, there is no reason at all for the European Council to agree on a prolongation."
