Britain will have to participate in the European Parliament (EP) elections on May 23 because it will not be able to approve the deal for Brexit before that, said British Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister David Lidington, quoted by AFP and Reuters.
Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to cancel this election in the UK if an agreement is adopted. Lidington said the government believes there is no longer enough time for parliament to ratify the various texts needed for the entry into force of the agreement before May 23rd.
May had hoped to avoid Britain's participation in the EP elections, but so far negotiations with the opposition Labor Party to reach a deal on Brexit have not been successful.
"Unfortunately, it will not be possible to conclude this process before the date of the European Parliament elections, so it will have to happen." We will double our efforts to make the delay as short as possible, ideally we would like to be in a situation in which the elected British MEPs do not meet at all in the European Parliament and end the issue before the summer break, "said Liddington.