Key Brexit dates:
- January 2017: Supreme Court expected to deliver its ruling on whether Theresa May has the power to trigger Article 50 using a royal prerogative, rather than by an Act of Parliament
- March 31, 2017: Deadline Mrs May has set for invoking Article 50 by notifying the European Council of Britain’s intention to leave the EU
- September 30, 2018: Date by which EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, wants to wrap up terms of Britain’s exit from the Union
- March 31, 2019: Date by which Theresa May wants to wrap up negotiations over Brexit
- May 2019? Britain formally exits the EU, following ratification of Brexit by all other member states
What is Article 50?
- Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon gives any EU member the right to quit unilaterally, and outlines the procedure for doing so
- There was no way to legally leave the EU before the Treaty was signed in 2007
- Gives the leaving country two years to negotiate an exit deal
- Once set in motion, it cannot be stopped except by unanimous consent of all member states
- Any deal must be approved by a “qualified majority” of EU member states and can be vetoed by the European Parliament
- In November 2016, the High Court ruled that the Government cannot trigger Article 50 without MPs voting on the matter first
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
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