British Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured center alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron, left, in Brussels on March 22.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May is undertaking a whistle-stop tour of European capitals, visiting Berlin and Paris on Tuesday, ahead of her trip to Brussels on Wednesday to ask for a new extension to Brexit.
Ahead of that crunch meeting with the EU27, May is looking for clarity from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron — the two biggest players in room — on how they will view her request.
Last time May addressed the EU27, to discuss the previous Brexit delay, there was some dissent in the room.
“Center to that discussion among most interested parties of the EU27 are the Germans and the French, and they carry most clout, so it’s little surprise that Theresa May is going to see Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron,” CNN’s international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson reports.
Robertson says European leaders appear to be generally inclined to give the embattled UK leader a further extension but are looking for assurances as to what will be gained by another delay in the already long-running Brexit saga.
“They really want to understand the political process that is going to make that extension worthwhile,” he explains.
