Jean-Claude Juncker open to any request for postponement of the British

The outgoing President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, estimated Sunday that it would be wise to accept a request for postponement of
Brexit in the case, improbable according to him, where the British government would make such a request.

"If the British asked for extra time, which they will probably not do, it would be from my point of view historical nonsense to refuse them," said Jean-Claude Juncker in an interview Sunday with the daily newspaper Austrian Kurier.

European summit scheduled for 17 and 18 October

"But I certainly would not go down on my knees to ask for more time. This is the British business, "added the head of the European executive whose mandate is due to end in late October.

A European summit scheduled for 17 and 18 October is presented as the last chance to avoid a UK exit from the EU without an agreement on 31 October or for a third postponement extending the uncertainty on the path that will follow this country after 46 years in the European fold.

The unexpected metaphore of the Sphynx

Jean-Claude Juncker added that he is unclear about the intentions of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he meets his European counterparts this week. "Compared to the British parliament, an Egyptian sphinx is an open book," he said.

Any request to postpone Brexit must be unanimously approved by the other EU Member States. In this regard, Jean-Claude Juncker said he was satisfied with the unity that could have been maintained within the 27 on the Brexit, at the price of a "daily work" in this sense.