Analysis: Slovakia won't Gain MEP Seat until Brexit takes place

If Brexit doesn't take place before the European Parliament elections in May, the distribution of seats won't change, and the current 750 seats plus one belonging to the chair will be distributed according to the current system, Czech analyst Ondrej Mocek of the Association for International Affairs (AMO) has stated. If the United Kingdom remains in the EU, Slovakia will have 13 seats and the Czech Republic 21. "Should Brexit happen, the Czech Republic won't gain any seats, while Slovakia will gain one seat, meaning that it will have 14 seats," clarified Mocek. If the UK doesn't leave, British European Parliament candidates will have to participate in the upcoming elections. Such a situation will occur if Brexit is postponed before the start of the elections or if Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which launched the Brexit process, is withdrawn. According to Mocek, these are two completely different scenarios. If the UK withdraws Article 50, it will be questionable whether the UK will ever leave. If the Brexit date (currently scheduled for March 29) is postponed, the British will play the same role as they do now. "Practically, they're passive now and don't join in debates. That means that there will be 73 British MEPs, but they won't act proactively," stated Mocek, adding that if this scenario takes place, the EU will wait until the UK leaves and the British MEPs withdraw.