Your Guide to Key Dates in the Brexit Negotiations
- Negotiations to start after May 22, must conclude by late-2018
- Exit bill, expats in limbo are among the thorniest issues
The U.K. is on course to quit the European Union when Big Ben chimes midnight on March 29, 2019. Assuming Brexit negotiations don’t break down in acrimony before the clock runs out, there’s a lot of ground to cover. Here’s a guide to what is coming up.
European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg votes on a resolution on the principles it wants upheld in Brexit talks. Even though the resolution isn’t binding, it is the most detailed policy document we have seen so far from the EU’s side. The principles are not far from the consensus among national governments, as this has been summarized in draft negotiating guidelines circulated by EU Council President Donald Tusk on March 31. The Parliament also has a veto power over the final Brexit deal and any subsequent free trade agreement between the U.K and the EU, so the document shouldn’t be seen as a purely academic exercise reflecting the views of militant Europhiles.