LONDON, March 20. /TASS/. The British government has sent a letter to the European Union asking for an extension to the Brexit process until June 30, Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons on Wednesday.
"I have therefore this morning written to President Tusk... informing him that the UK seeks an extension to the Article 50 period until 30 June," the Prime Minister said.
May added that the government is still pursuing a goal of passing through the parliament the Brexit deal approved at the EU summit in November and thereafter rejected twice by the House of Commons. The cabinet plans to hold a third vote on the deal in spite of Speaker of the House John Bercow’s objections.
"I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than the 30th June," May said.
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said that the European Union had received the UK’s request to delay Brexit, initially scheduled for March 29.
Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty grants any EU member state the right to extend a two-year period required to quit unilaterally in case the European Council unanimously decides to extend that period. Earlier, the British parliament supported the cabinet’s move to extend the Brexit process until a later date.