UK Prime Minister Theresa May has triggered the formal, two-year process of negotiations that will lead to Britain leaving the European Union (EU), after more than 40 years, in a process popularly known as Brexit.
A letter invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and officially notifying the EU of Britain’s decision to withdraw from the bloc was hand-delivered to European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels by British Ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow on Wednesday. Copies are to be sent to the other 27 EU member states.
In a speech to parliament designed to coincide with the letter’s delivery, May urged the country to come together as it embarks on a “momentous journey.”
“We are one great union of people and nations with a proud history and a bright future. And, now that the decision has been made to leave the EU, it is time to come together,” she said.
May told MPs she wanted to represent “every person in the UK,” including EU nationals, in negotiations.
EU Council President Donald Tusk said there was “no reason to pretend this is a happy day.”
“We already miss you,” he said, adding there was “nothing to win” and that, now, the Brexit process was about damage control.
Britain voted to leave the EU last June, after a campaign that divided the country. In a close result, 52 percent voted for Brexit, while 48 percent wanted to stay in the EU.
Scotland and Northern Ireland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, while England and Wales, with a much larger combined population, voted to leave.
May spoke to key EU figures late on Tuesday including Tusk, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Juncker said his conversation had been “good and instructive” and that Britain would remain a “close and committed ally.”
May has promised to take Britain out of the EU single market but negotiate a deal that keeps close trade relations with Europe, as she builds “a strong, self-governing global Britain” with control over its own borders and laws.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said Britain was “on the threshold of the most important negotiation” for Britain “for a generation.”