It's a clear giveaway at this point

Merkel May
  • We should give the UK a reasonable period of time
  • But EU institutions must be able to function without disruption

It's pretty much certain European leaders will offer the UK a longer extension with certain conditions attached to it. The question now will be if it will be until the end of this year or until March next year, that remains the real unknown. Looks like we can look forward to many more months of Brexit commentary.