May to meet Merkel on Tuesday amid Brexit crisis

BERLIN (AA): German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May in Berlin on Tuesday, a government spokesman has announced on Monday.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Merkel will receive May in the Chancellory tomorrow, but he declined to make any comment on British premier’s request for a further delay to Brexit until June 30.

In a letter she wrote to the European Council, President Donald Tusk on Friday said May asked for a further delay to Brexit, after she suffered a humiliating defeat at the Parliament on her EU withdrawal agreement.

Following her talks in Berlin, May is expected to travel to Paris for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

EU leaders are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Wednesday for a special summit to discuss May’s request.

Local media reported earlier that the EU was considering to offer Britain a “flexible” extension until the end of 2019, with an option to leave earlier if the withdrawal agreement is ratified.

May’s Brexit deal was rejected three times by the British lawmakers, and last week British MPs also rejected four alternative proposals for the U.K.’s exit from the EU.

The U.K. is due to leave the bloc on April 12 — pushed back last month from March 29 — if the EU would not agree on an extension to Brexit.

In a 2016 referendum, U.K. voters decided to leave the 28-member bloc after a more than 40-year-long membership.