UK says it will trigger Brexit process on March 29

The UK government said on Monday it intends on March 29 to formally trigger the long negotiations for the UK to leave the EU.

“The UK’s Permanent Representative to the European Union, Sir Tim Barrow, has this morning informed the office of European Council President, Donald Tusk, of the UK’s intention to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on March 29, 2017,” said the UK government.

“This meets the UK’s longstanding commitment to trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017.”

The UK as a whole voted 51.9% to 48.1% to leave the EU in a referendum last June — but Scotland, Northern Ireland and a number of major cities in England and Wales including London, Cardiff, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Oxford and Cambridge voted to remain in the EU.

The UK’s Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis, said: “Last June, the people of the UK made the historic decision to leave the EU.

“Next Wednesday, the government will deliver on that decision and formally start the process by triggering Article 50.

“We are on the threshold of the most important negotiation for this country for a generation.

“The government is clear in its aims: a deal that works for every nation and region of the UK and indeed for all of Europe — a new, positive partnership between the UK and our friends and allies in the European Union.”