On April 10, 2019, the latest Brextension was formalised with the EU offering the UK a six-month Brexit delay, pushing the withdrawal date to Halloween. This six-month extension was a compromise solution which stopped the clock on a no-deal withdrawal occurring at the end of the first Brexit-extension in April 2019.

The UK agreed with the EU by extending Article 50 until October 31 2019 at the latest, whereby during the course of the extension, the UK will continue to hold full membership rights as well as its obligations. The EU has agreed that the extension can be terminated if the Withdrawal Agreement is ratified within the UK. If the Withdrawal Agreement is ratified by both parties before 31 October, the withdrawal will take place on the first day of the following month i.e. Brexit could occur on July 1st, August 1st, September 1st, October 1st or most likely October 31st (which incidentally is the only date on which a no deal exit could happen).

As the UK did not ratify the Withdrawal Agreement by the 22 May 2019, they were legally obliged to hold European Parliamentary Elections on May 24th.

Although Parliament has rejected leaving without a deal multiple times, no deal remains the legal default at the end of the extension period if a deal cannot be agreed. If the Withdrawal Agreement can be agreed, this offers a time-limited implementation period providing a bridge to the future relationship and common rules will remain in place i.e. businesses trade on the same terms as now until the end of 2020.

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