Mr Macron was told to be “pragmatic” and approve Britain’s request for a short delay to Brexit (Image: Getty Images)
Pushing the exit date back to June creates a string of issues of a “legal and political nature,” the EU said. In addition, an extension must first be approved by all remaining 27 EU states. The request to extend Brexit negotiations until June 30 will “allow the British to become fully operational economically speaking – I did not say politically – and allow [French] companies to be better informed,” Mr Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France region, said during a conference on Brexit at the Senate. He said: “It is for this reason that I solemnly ask the President of the Republic to agree to an extension of Article 50 until June.
“I believe there is another [French] position. Fine, but I am calling for one thing: pragmatism, pragmatism, pragmatism. We can [hide behind] legalism. But it is often an enemy of the economy and employment.”
A three-month delay to Brexit, Mr Bertrand insisted, can be done “without undermining European principles … and without [upsetting] the proper functioning of the EU.”
Prime Minister Theresa May asked for a delay on Wednesday to allow more time to get her twice-rejected divorce deal through parliament. Her request came just nine days before Britain is officially due to exit the bloc following two years of painstaking negotiations.
If the deal struck with the EU is rejected for a third time, Mrs May told lawmakers that parliament would have to decide the next steps.
Xavier
