Merkel in favour of Brexit extension to avoid no-deal scenario

"The federal government is still very interested in an orderly withdrawal of Great Britain from the European Union," Merkel told the German parliament ahead of an EU special summit on Wednesday.

Merkel noted, however, that it may well be that it is a longer extension than the one requested by the British Prime Minister.

British Prime Minister Theresa May wanted to ask for an extension of the withdrawal period until June 30 at the special EU summit.

European Council president Donald Tusk, on the other hand, has proposed a delay of up to 12 months, with the option of Britain withdrawing sooner if an agreement on a Brexit deal is reached.

"I believe that the extension should be as short as possible, but it should also give us some peace of mind so that we do not have to deal with the same issue every two weeks," Merkel stressed.

The German Chancellor was planning to coordinate her position with French President Emmanuel Macron at a meeting in Brussels before the EU summit.

It was only right that the 27 EU member states "should take Britain's wishes into account in their decisions if possible", Merkel said. She would therefore support an extension of the deadline for several months if there is a broad consensus among EU leaders.

Nonetheless, once Great Britain has reached a decision, it should be possible "for the withdrawal to take place immediately", stressed Merkel.