By Jenny Gross
LONDON -- Britain on March 29 will formally trigger negotiations
to remove itself from the European Union, opening a two-year window
for talks set to disentangle decades of close ties and redefine
Britain's relationship with some of its closest allies.
Britain's ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, told the office of
European Council President Donald Tusk on Monday morning that
Britain would trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the formal
withdrawal mechanism, a week from Wednesday, said James Slack, a
spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May.
Mrs. May has said she would trigger the U.K.'s exit by the end
of this month, but the exact date had been left open amid months of
wrangling in Parliament and the courts. Negotiations are now likely
to begin in earnest in early summer.
"We are on the threshold of the most important negotiation for
this country for a generation," said David Davis, Britain's Brexit
minister. "The government is clear in its aims: a deal that works
for every nation and region of the U.K. and indeed for all of
Europe -- a new, positive partnership between the U.K. and our
friends and allies in the European Union."
Mrs. May's letter will pave the way for Britain to leave by
March 2019, putting her at the center of EU politics as
antiestablishment and euroskeptic movements challenge the bloc. EU
leaders are grappling with whether the bloc should continue its
deep political and economic integration or put a brake on broader
ambitions for unity.
Lawmakers and EU negotiators will be watching Mrs. May's speech
to Parliament next week for further clues about the approach
Britain will take when it goes to the bargaining table and for
indications of how flexible Mrs. May's team may be.
The negotiations will be some of the most complex either side
has undertaken, and the two sides publicly remain far apart on some
central issues. Downing Street didn't say whether the letter would
give more details on Britain's negotiating positions.
British voters decided to leave the bloc in June, but the
country's Supreme Court ruled in January that Mrs. May needed
parliamentary approval to trigger Article 50, casting doubt on her
timeline. She got the go-ahead from lawmakers last week.
"Finally, finally the negotiations can begin," said French
Finance Minister Michel Sapin. "After the Brexit vote, which we
have to respect, it took quite some time. I believe the U.K. needed
some time to prepare, but finally we can enter negotiations and I
hope we can do it constructively on both sides."
Mr. Tusk said he would set out a response to the Article 50
letter by March 31.
EU officials said the late-March trigger would delay the start
of real negotiations between the U.K. and the rest of the EU,
meaning they may not begin until early summer. That is because
there is now too little time to convene the 27 other EU heads of
government for a meeting in early April as Mr. Tusk had originally
planned, they said.
That meeting will be key as it would settle the guidelines for
the talks -- setting out which issues will be dealt with in the
divorce negotiations and in what order. After that, the EU will
need another few weeks to turn those guidelines into a formal
negotiating mandate for Michel Barnier, who will lead the
day-to-day talks for the bloc.
An EU official said no specific date had been set for the
meeting of the bloc's other leaders. "But we expect to need
approximately four to six weeks to prepare and consult with EU 27
member states."
Mrs. May, who took office after the Brexit vote, has said the
U.K. wants a clear break from the bloc, leaving the single market
for goods and services to take control over immigration from the
EU. But she says she wants the best possible trade deal with the EU
that the U.K. can get.
EU officials say Britain owes it EUR55 billion ($59 billion) to
EUR60 billion to cover budget commitments already made, future
pension liabilities and other items. When Mrs. May's government
published a government report outlining its objectives, it skirted
over the exit bill and other key issues, which are expected to
dominate negotiations over Britain's divorce terms.
EU policy makers have said Britain must recognize it must settle
outstanding commitments early on in the talks if discussions are
going to move on to address Britain's future trade and economic
relationship with the bloc.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chairman of the eurozone finance
ministers group, said he hopes to see "realism" in the Article 50
notification. "Realism over the price it will cost, realism over
the complexity and the time needed, which so far we have missed
quite a lot from the part of the British government. But we will
see," he said.
Mrs. May, whose Conservative Party holds a thin majority in
Parliament, must tread carefully as she embarks on negotiations.
Some in Parliament say her positions are too hard-line. She also
faces political pressure from Scotland, where the governing party
is calling for a second referendum on independence from the U.K.
This has raised the prospect that the U.K. could itself split apart
as it is unraveling its ties to the EU. The majority of people in
Scotland voted to remain in the EU.
The spokesman said Mrs. May didn't have plans to hold an early
general election, addressing rumors that she planned to call one in
the coming months to increase her majority in Parliament.
--Laurence Norman and Valentina Pop in Brussels contributed to
this article.
Write to Jenny Gross at jenny.gross@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2017 16:12 ET (20:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.