Britain will remain a member of the European Union if the leaders of the remaining 27 member states agree to a lengthy Brexit extension during an emergency summit in Brussels on Wednesday. Should the delayed be agreed unanimously, British parties will be required to field candidates to stand for the European parliamentary elections scheduled for May 23-May 26. But BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler suggested taking part in the elections could trigger unexpected consequences forcing the UK to stay inside the bloc until 2024 –eight years after the Brexit referendum.
Speaking from Brussels ahead of the emergency EU27 summit, the BBC editor said: "One high-level diplomat recently described it to me as a farce. The idea a leaving nation should take part in European parliamentary elections, bringing in new MEPs to sit in the European Parliament.
"The fact is nobody here wants to undermine the working of the EU as long as the UK remains a member and therefore, if the UK remains a part of the EU past May 22, it will have to take part in European parliamentary election.
"One of the worries here, and Michel Barnier has picked up on this recently and emphasised this to EU leaders, is that once the UK has MEPs in Parliament they sit for five years.
"We are talking about a one-year extension now but it could be repeated and repeated until that five-year period, in theory."
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Brexit news: Adler warned the UK could be forced to keep MEPs in the EU until 2024 (Image: EUROPARL TV•EBS)
European Parliament Antonio Tajani however appeared to dismiss the suggestion British
