The European Union (EU) has stated that it would forcefully remove the United Kingdom from the union if the Brexit deal is not finalized on time and if the country fails to participate in the union’s parliamentary polls scheduled for the end of May.

Legal issues that may arise from Britain requesting an extension of the Article 50 period were also outlined in a document circulated among ambassadors of member countries last Friday, as obtained by the Financial Times.

Addressing the relationship between Brexit and the forthcoming elections, the document explains that a withdrawing member country is constitutionally bound to help organize European Parliament elections and, if it fails to do so, it will “cease being able to operate in a secure legal context,” regardless of its presence in the bloc.

While the Article 50 period extension is theoretically possible, the Union announced that if the UK was granted a further extension until July 1, but fails to participate in the polls, it would not be given any further extensions.

“It follows that if an initial extension puts the withdrawal date after the date of the European Parliament elections, and if these elections were not organized by the withdrawing State, this would make any further extension impossible,” the document explains.

So far, reports state that EU leaders will have to make the tough call during a summit this week, deciding whether or not to grant an extension to the UK, a decision that must be unanimous to stand.

According to the Times, the British government is in the process of preparing to plead with the EU for more time, preferably several months, to handle their current predicament. This follows the recent ruling against the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, as announced by the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.

His ruling placed a stumbling block in deliberations as May must now request for an extension as they deliberate on their exit strategy.