Theresa Starts
Off Brexit
UK
Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Sunday that she will formally request
the start of negotiations for exiting the European Union by late March of next
year, confirming again that the island nation will indeed proceed with a
so-called “Brexit” despite some pending domestic
legal challenges.
In a speech to the Conservative Conference, May also
gave a broad outline of what the UK will be seeking as part of its exit package
when it triggers “Article 50,” the provision in the Treaty of Lisbon which
allows for an existing EU member to negotiate their way out of the bloc.
The news comes as leaders from the remaining “EU 27”
begin work on charting their own path as a group, without the UK – a process
that is due for completion in March, the same month that May has set as a
deadline for submitting the Article 50 notification.
Under the Treaty of Lisbon, any EU member who wishes to
exit the bloc must formally notify the European Council of its intent to do so.
This then starts a two-year window for negotiations between that country and
the rest of the European Union, represented by the Council. A final agreement
will require a “qualified majority” on the Council side, as well as the signoff
from the European Parliament.
Should
a deal not be reached within two years, the UK will be forced to leave the EU,
unless all parties agree to extend the negotiations.
She
also attempted to counter the suggestion that both the House of Lords and the
House of Commons would need to agree on triggering Article 50 – as some critics
have suggested.
“When it legislated to establish the referendum,
Parliament put the decision to leave or remain inside the EU in the hands of
the people. And the people gave their answer with emphatic clarity,” she said,
pledging to fight against domestic legal challenges on the subject.
The UK premier also said that while the government will
consult with “devolved administrations” in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and
Wales, it will ultimately be up to the UK government itself to conduct the
negotiations.
Scotland and Northern Ireland had voted in favour to stay in the EU, and a legal challenge is underway
in the latter to determine whether a parliamentary vote is needed to proceed
with “Brexit.”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said this week
that investor confidence has taken a hit in the wake of the UK referendum, with
the Washington-based institution predicting that the UK will see growth slow
from 2.2 percent in 2015 to 1.8 percent in 2016 and 1.7 percent in 2017.
She also ruled out using a so-called “Norway” or
“Switzerland” model in establishing a new UK-EU relationship, as some experts
have suggested. May said instead that London will pursue its own approach,
suitable to its own needs.
An ideal arrangement, she said, would be one featuring
free trade and goods and services. “I want [the deal] to give British companies
the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the single market – and let
European businesses do the same here.”
However, she pledged that the UK would not yield
control of immigration in the process, nor would it subject itself to the
jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.
“As ever with international talks, it will be a
negotiation… But make no mistake: this is going to be a deal that works for
Britain,” she said.
One
of the many questions prompted by the “Brexit” vote
has been how the UK will extricate itself from the vast body of EU laws and
regulations that has been developed over the last several decades.
May sought to clarify how this process would work
during her speech on Sunday, confirming that the repeal of the European
Communities Act would also include language that would convert existing EU law
into British law.
Indeed, while the UK relationship with the EU single
market has been one of the dominant questions in the overall “Brexit” debate, how the UK will navigate its relationship
with the WTO as well as with those countries who have existing or planned trade
deals with the European Union will also be key issues going forward.