Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at a hotel close to the International Convention Center in Birmingham, central England, on October 1, 2016 on the eve of the start of the ruling Conservative party annual conference. (AFP PHOTO / Adrian DENNIS)
Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday that Britain would start the formal process for leaving the European Union by the end of March 2017.
Before now May has only said that Britain would not trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty — which sets a maximum two-year clock ticking until a country’s departure from the 28-member bloc — before the end of this year.
May said she would be giving further details during her speech Sunday to her governing center-right Conservative Party’s on the opening day of its annual conference in Birmingham, central England.
“I’ve been saying that we wouldn’t trigger before the end of this year so that we get the preparation in place,” she told BBC television.
“We will trigger before the end of March next year.”
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
A man waves both a Union flag and a European flag together on College Green outside The Houses of Parliament at an anti-Brexit protest in central London on June 28, 2016. (Justin Tallis/AFP)
Earlier she announced a “Great Repeal Bill” to end the authority of EU law once Britain leaves the union.
The legislation will overturn laws that make EU regulations supreme, enshrine all EU rules in domestic law and confirm the British parliament can amend them as it wants.
“This marks the first stage in the UK becoming a sovereign and independent country once again,” May told The Sunday Times newspaper.
Advertisement
“It will return power and authority to the elected institutions of our country. It means that the authority of EU law in Britain will end.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
