Britain to trigger Brexit process on March 29, gov’t says

Reporters were told that the UK’s permanent representative to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow, had a discussion with representatives from the office of Donald Tusk, the president of the European Commission, in which he informed them about the letter and when it might arrive.

This is tiny compared to the near £50 billion (€57.3 billion) that Britain is expected to pay, according to the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

As a result, the exact process for negotiating the UK’s exit over the next two years is not wholly clear.

Downing Street said ministers will meet again on March 29 to discuss the final contents of the letter, before it is sent to Brussels later that day.

At a meeting of regional diplomats in Madrid last week, Spanish officials said a breakdown in negotiations was feasible in light of comments made by Prime Minister Theresa May.

Barnier said the first condition for success was the unity of the 27 governments staying in the European Union and the transparency of the negotiations.

“I have set out my objectives”. These include getting a good free trade deal.

This has been a very important decision which will involve intense negotiations related to politics and economy and finance for a period of nearly 2 years which is going to affect the people of United Kingdom as well as the neighboring countries.

The document, obtained by Dutch newspaper De Volksrant, says if Britain refuses to pay, the European Union will take it to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

May has promised Britain will remain a “reliable ally” to the European Union and wants “practical arrangements” on law enforcement and intelligence cooperation.

He noted that negotiations would begin once other European Union states had met to confirm the Commission’s negotiating mandate.

The invocation of the Lisbon Treaty article will formally begin Brexit negotiations, kicking off a two-year period during which the the and United Kingdom will try to agree the terms of Brexit and what relations will look like once Britain leaves.

The Brexit secretary said Britain will then be engaged in the most important negotiation “for a generation”. “We must do serious legal work on this with the United Kingdom”.

“It can not be like it was before, otherwise it would be a waste of time to have a Brexit”.

“Brexit will place a huge burden on both Parliament and government departments”, the report warns.

Britain has said it wants to agree its divorce and a new relationship with Europe within the two years.

“The sooner we reach a deal on an orderly withdrawal, the sooner we can prepare for the future relationship”, he said, adding that leaving hard divorce issues until the last moment was playing with failure.

“Labour respects the will of the people, but the Government has failed to build a consensus about what form Brexit should take.”