May has said that Britain won’t begin the divorce proceedings until next year, to give her government time to prepare for negotiations that will shape the country’s future relations with the rest of Europe for many years.
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The talks at No 10 come after the Prime Minister faced accusations of vagueness over the government’s position on remaining in the European single market.
May got an earful at the G20 meeting, with Italy urging them to hurry up, Japan suggesting that its companies may pull out of Britain if it doesn’t maintain full access to the European common market, Australia saying it wouldn’t negotiate a new free-trade deal with Britain until Brexit is settled, and President Obama saying that the US will prioritize trade deals with the EU over building a new trade relationship with the United Kingdom.
As head of the European Council, which groups heads of EU states and governments, Tusk leads the body that defines the bloc’s political direction and priorities.
Tusk tweeted that a quick initiation of negotiations was in “everyone’s interest”, and maintained that the EU’s goal was to establish the closest possible relations with Britain. I’m aware that it is not easy but I still hope you will be ready to start the process as soon as possible. Ball in United Kingdom court to start negotiations.
European Union officials are keen to move quickly on the talks, fearing uncertainty over future relations is hurting investment.
Britain’s economy, while slowing sharply, has recovered from the initial impact of the vote.
“The main points that the prime minister made were about working together so that there was a smooth process for the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, that is why we are taking time to prepare for the negotiations”, the spokeswoman told reporters. Reports published on Thursday showed firms increasing the number of permanent staff and house prices rising.
He told May it was in the interest of all 27 European Union nations to know when Britain was planning to leave.
One, Liam Fox, who is now trade minister, said Britain was pressing on with plans to reach agreements with some of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies.
She says reducing immigration into Britain is crucial after millions of Britons expressed their frustration in the vote over what they say is the stress on schools, hospitals and housing from high numbers of people settling in the country.
“It doesn t mean that we are going to discuss our future relations with the United Kingdom in Bratislava, because for this. we need the formal notification, I mean triggering Article 50” of the European Union s Lisbon Treaty, Tusk said at the start of the Downing Street meeting.
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But she has indicated that the United Kingdom would be looking for a bespoke deal, and will not simply follow Norway’s example, which is a member of the single market but also bound by the free movement of people, a principle that allows European Union nationals to live anywhere within the bloc.
