Irish PM supports Tusk’s proposal for Brexit extension

DUBLIN, Oct 24 (NNN-Xinhua) — Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar expressed his support for the proposal made by the European Council’s President Donald Tusk to grant a Brexit extension requested by Britain, according to a government statement.

“The Taoiseach (prime minister in English) confirmed his support for President Tusk’s proposal to grant the request for an extension which was sought by the UK” during a Wednesday morning phone talk with Tusk, said the statement.

“They noted that it would still be possible for the UK to leave before Jan 31, 2020 if the Withdrawal Agreement has been ratified in advance of that date,” it said, adding that the Brexit extension matter is likely to be discussed further at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in Brussels.

On Tuesday night, the House of Commons of the British parliament rejected Boris Johnson’s bid to set a three-day schedule to approve a Brexit bill this week, which has destroyed the hope that a treaty for an orderly Brexit will be ratified before the end of this month and made the Brexit extension more likely.