Brexit Will Not Happen Next Week After All

European Union agrees to postpone UK's exit, with conditions

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 21, 2019 6:55 PM CDT

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Brexit Gets a Reprieve —a Short One — British Prime Minister Theresa May, center, speaks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, right, and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, left, during a roundtable meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

After a big Brexit development Thursday, only one thing is clear: Brexit will not happen on March 29, as has long been scheduled. Beyond that, things get a little confusing. The European Union agreed to postpone the UK's exit from the union next Friday because UK lawmakers have not been able to agree on an exit strategy, reports the BBC. The next steps:

March 29: This is now off the table as a date for Brexit to happen.
Vote next week: Parliament will vote on Theresa May's exit plan. (They've already rejected it twice.)
If it's a yes: If lawmakers approve May's plan, Brexit would occur on May 22.
If it's a no: If lawmakers reject May's plan a third time, the UK must present a new plan to the EU by April 12, per the AP. This scenario increases the chances that the UK would be forced to exit with no plan at all, a chaotic alternative that all sides are trying to avoid.

(More Brexit stories.)

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