EU States disagree on Brexit delay as clock ticks down

(dpa/NAN) EU member states have put off a decision on Britain’s request to delay its departure from the European Union, the bloc’s executive says, amid disagreement on how long to extend the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline.

“The EU-27 have agreed to the principle of an extension and work will now continue in the coming days,’’ European Commission spokeswoman, Mina Andreeva, says following a meeting of the 27 member states’ ambassadors.

There are currently no plans for an emergency leaders’ summit, she adds.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was compelled to lodge a request for a three-month extension by an act of British parliament last weekend.

Ratification of the Brexit divorce deal agreed by Johnson and his EU counterparts ground to a halt on Tuesday, when British lawmakers indicated their preliminary approval but scrapped a proposed three-day timetable to turn it into law.

On Thursday, Johnson called for early elections on Dec. 12 to break the impasse.