Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 29,
2017, British Prime Minister Theresa May will invoke Article 50,
initiating the formal two-year negotiation process for the United
Kingdom to leave the European Union.
What Will Happen Next?
Britain's European Union (EU) Ambassador today informed the
EU Council President that the U.K. government will give formal
notice on March 29, 2017 of the U.K.'s intention to leave the
EU. This will start the withdrawal process, which will take a
minimum of two years. If the complex negotiations and legal
procedures conclude within that timeframe, the U.K.'s exit from
the EU could be completed by March 2019.
Once the U.K. has given formal notice to withdraw, the remaining
27 EU member states must then align their negotiating position,
which is likely to take several weeks. Immigration was a
central issue in the run up to the referendum and the desire to
curb the free movement of EU nationals into the U.K. was one of the
primary drivers of the
