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EU Parliament rebuffs May on post-Brexit ties

A proposal to preserve the rights of British people overseas was reportedly made by the EU Parliament’s chief negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt. This goes especially for many Germans and European citizens living in Great Britain.

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Mr Kerr, a former ambassador to the European Union, said the article – the legal process Britain is using to leave the European Union – was “not irrevocable” and the United Kingdom could still do a U-turn and remain in the bloc.

When was it voted on?

Brexit Secretary David Davis said: “At the heart of the referendum decision was sovereignty”.

In 2014, 55 percent of Scottish voters chose to stay in the United Kingdom – but backers of a new referendum note that conditions have now changed, with the pending exit from the EU.

Who is for and who is against it?

The outcome of the negotiations will shape the future of Britain’s $US2.6 trillion ($A3.4 trillion) economy, the world’s fifth biggest, and determine whether London can keep its place as one of the top two global financial centres. She also said that the U.K.’s removal from Europe does not mean the country is leaving Europe.

It has also presented both Brussels and London with a sharp legal and political headache. Britain insists that it must regain the right to control immigration and end free movement from other European Union countries into Britain.

It foreshadows what will likely become a theme of the talks: Britain talking up the value of its security cooperation to the EU. The Government has estimated that leaving the European Union on WTO terms would lead to a 7.5% fall in GDP and a £45 billion loss of tax receipts.

The Prime Minister delivered an upbeat vision of a United Kingdom whose “best days lie ahead” as she confirmed her envoy Sir Tim Barrow had handed the formal notification to European Council president Donald Tusk in Brussels. Once talks begin, they’ll have to work through questions like which European Union treaties and laws will apply to the country once it leaves and what rights European Union citizens will have to remain in the UK. Any exit deal must be approved by a “qualified majority” of member states and consent of the European Parliament.

“We’ve made progress on that but we should be under no illusions, we have years of work ahead of us – the two years that will follow on from the triggering of Article 50 today, I believe a huge amount of work after that will require painstaking work and a clear focus on our interests”. When that is settled, he will need to agree a separate mandate under the EU’s Article 218 for trade negotiating authority.

With Article 50 invoked, Britain will have two years to negotiate its self-extraction.

The UK has indicated that transitional and future trade agreements should be discussed in parallel to separation talks, but the European Union has insisted that the latter must happen first. But either way, the exit is happening.

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In a speech following the letter delivery, the Prime Minister told the House of Commons there is “no turning back”.

Ireland’s interests must be reflected in the EU’s plan the taoiseach warnedSTEPHANIE LECOCQ  EPA