Shortly after the UK requested the European Union (EU) for an extension to Article 50, British Prime Minister Theresa May appealed to the Members of Parliament to decide backing the withdrawal deal to honour the people's referendum to exit the EU.
"This delay is a matter of great personal regret for me...It's now time for MPs to decide...I passionately hope MPs will find a way to back the deal I've negotiated with the EU," May said in a public statement on Wednesday (local time).
May chided the MPs while referring to their multiple rejections of the deal she has twice negotiated with the EU during Wednesday's public address.
"So far parliament has done everything possible to avoid making a choice. Motion after motion and amendment after amendment has been tabled without Parliament ever deciding what it wants. All MPs have been willing to say is what they do not want," she said, outlining that not leaving the EU at all will cause irreparable damage to public trust in the "entire democratic process."
In 2016, over 50 per cent of the UK electorate voted to leave the EU, following which the British government triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, beginning the country's process of its exit from the European bloc.
The United Kingdom is currently posed to exit from the bloc on March 29 with no deal in sight, even as the British Parliament has rejected the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal. Subsequently, the British Parliament also voted for an extension to Brexit.
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Honouring this, May wrote to European Council President Donald Tusk on March 20, asking for a three-month extension to Brexit till June 30.
"I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than June 30," May said on Wednesday (local time).
She again quashed calls for a second referendum and said: "We asked you (the British public) the question already and you gave us your answer. Now, you want us to get on with it and that is what I am determined to do."
Tusk, on the other hand, believes that a short extension to Brexit is possible while putting forth the condition that the UK House of Commons needs to back the already negotiated withdrawal deal.
May is expected to call for a third meaningful vote on the Brexit deal next week. An emergency EU meeting could take place on March 28, if the British Parliament rejects the negotiated deal again for the third time.
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