Revealed: EU war-gaming for fall of May's government

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/16/eu-war-gaming-for-fall-of-theresa-may-government

Revealed: EU war-gaming for fall of May’s government

Daniel Boffey in Brussels, Michael Savage and Toby Helm

Sat 16 Mar 2019 20.00 GMT Last modified on Sat 16 Mar 2019 23.50 GMT

The EU is war-gaming for the fall of Theresa May amid a complete collapse in confidence in the prime minister after a week of chaos over Brexit, a leaked document seen by the Observer reveals.

In the run-up to a crucial summit of EU leaders where May will ask for a delay to Brexit, Brussels fears there is little hope that she will succeed in passing her deal this week and is preparing itself for a change of the guard in Downing Street.

A diplomatic note of a meeting of EU ambassadors and senior officials reveals an attempt to ensure that any new prime minister cannot immediately unpick the withdrawal agreement should May be replaced in the months ahead. Some hardline Brexiters want to replace her with a leader who will back a harder split with Brussels.
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The moves in Brussels come before another critical and highly unpredictable week in the Brexit process in which May is expected to launch her third attempt to secure support for her beleaguered deal. The Observer understands that Labour will use the opportunity to offer its most strident support yet for a second referendum, by voting for a plan drawn up by two Labour backbenchers to put May’s deal to a public vote.
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The document indicates Selmayr argued for a shorter Brexit delay than the three-month period currently being suggested. He warned that it risked leaving the EU paralysed if British MEPs were not elected in May’s European parliament elections, but a new prime minister then revoked article 50 before July – when the European parliament first sits. “We should not run that risk,” he told the EU’s member states on Friday evening.

Selmayr further suggested that May would be asked to write into her letter of request for a delay that the UK would not interfere in long-term EU planning, such as the bloc’s budget, during the extra period of membership – and that this should apply to her “successors” in Downing Street.
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