Von der Leyen says she’ll ask UK for commissioner if Brexit is delayed

Prospect of extension ‘looks very good,’ incoming European Commission chief says.

European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday she would ask Britain to nominate a commissioner if Brexit is delayed.

EU leaders are considering a request for a three-month delay to the current Brexit date of October 31, contained in a letter Prime Minister Boris Johnson was compelled to send to Brussels at the weekend by the British parliament.

“We need to move step by step,” von der Leyen told a news conference in Helsinki. “First of all, of course, there is the question of granting an extension. That looks very good. Then the second question that has to be solved but has not been precisely determined right now is the length of the extension.”

But, she said, if the U.K. is still in the EU after November 1, “then of course I would ask the U.K. to send a commissioner.”

Johnson has previously made clear he would not nominate anyone for von der Leyen’s Commission.

The new Commission was due to take office on November 1 but its start date was delayed after the European Parliament rejected three of von der Leyen’s nominees. It is now expected to take office at the beginning of December at the earliest.

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