The European Union may offer to push the Brexit date to the summer of 2020 as negotiations with the U.K. for a new withdrawal agreement remain in stalemate, The Guardian reported, citing diplomatic sources.
European leaders will consider a "range of dates" for the potential Brexit extension during the European Council meeting on Oct. 17-18, with June 2020 as the cut-off date, according to the report.
"We could extend to September without any problem, but what would you achieve over the summer? So June seems more likely," an EU diplomat told the publication.
A new U.K. law requires Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask the EU by Oct. 19 to extend the Brexit date to Jan. 31, 2020, if no Brexit deal is reached.
Earlier reports said the Brexit negotiations were close to collapse following a call between Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Johnson also met with European Parliament President David Sassoli, who said no progress had been made as he rejected the U.K.'s latest Brexit proposals.
Sassoli echoed concerns among some EU lawmakers regarding the U.K. proposals, which seek to exclude the proposed Irish backstop from any Brexit pact. He said the deal struck by former U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is still the "best possible agreement."
"We have examined the UK proposals to replace the original backstop and our response is that these are a long way from something to which the Parliament could agree," Sassoli said in a statement. "In addition, they are not immediately operable."
Johnson maintained that the U.K. will leave the EU on Oct. 31 even in the absence of a Brexit deal. Both the U.K. and European parliaments need to ratify any withdrawal agreement.
