Theresa May Asks E.U. for Brexit Extension Until June 30

LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday asked the European Union to delay Britain’s departure from the bloc for a second time — until June 30 — and conceded that the country was preparing to take part in European Parliament elections.

Mrs. May formally asked in a letter to Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, to postpone the departure, now scheduled for April 12.

British news media reports said Mr. Tusk was pushing European leaders to offer Mrs. May a one-year extension while leaving the door open to Britain’s leaving sooner if it ratifies a divorce deal.

That plan, described in Brussels as a “flextension,” would save European leaders from repeatedly having to consider British requests to delay Brexit, as the divorce process is known. And in allowing Britain to leave sooner if it agrees to a withdrawal deal, Mr. Tusk apparently hopes it will make clear that Brussels is not trying to trap Britain in the bloc.

Mr. Tusk’s plan would need the backing of the leaders of European Union member states.

In asking for an extension until June 30, Mrs. May was bowing to pressure from within her Conservative Party not to be seen as forcing the country into a long delay.

Mrs. May’s Brexit deal has been rejected three times by British lawmakers in Parliament, and there is likely to be a lively debate in Brussels on whether — or more particularly, on what terms — to grant a second extension. Britain was originally supposed to leave on March 29, after the nation voted in a 2016 referendum.

The prime minister has sought to break months of deadlock by meeting with to her political adversary, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, to try to reach an agreement. They met on Wednesday, and teams from both sides continued the discussions on Thursday.

The session ended with no breakthroughs or breakdowns.