Theresa May is in Berlin and Paris to request a new deadline. It’s a safe bet that she will get some time. The date discussed is December 31, 2019. It is a little less than what Donald Tusk was talking about, who was ready to go up to a year.
As no one knows the possible consequences of a lack of agreement, no leader will take the risk of being the one who could trigger the possible apocalypse.
Business leaders are making arrangements to manage the possibility of a Brexit but none wants a disruption that would have a negative impact on their business.
This procrastination has a cost. This is true for the English who, if they had not stored heavily, would have been in a recession for the last two quarters. This is the case of the European Union too. Any meeting with employees, clients, bankers or industrialists gives pride of place to the concerns about Brexit. Let’s not doubt that this uncertainty affects behavior and also penalizes the growth of the EU. We are thus in a war of attrition, looking for who will exit first. This may be the worst solution because costs will accumulate on both sides of the Channel.
Because, let us be clear, an additional period does not mean an agreement on the British side on the scheduled date. British are in the EU for an extended period.
