End of the affair
Sir Tim Barrow’s sombre walk across Brussels with Article 50 letter today will launch Brexit in earnest ‘His planned route has been kept under wraps for fear Remainers might try to intercept the letter’
AS THE clocks struck midnight to herald New Year’s Day 1973, a Union flag was raised over the headquarters of the European Economic Community to mark the moment Britain officially joined the European project.
George Thomson, one of the UK’s first European Commissioners, took part in a torchlit procession through Brussels to celebrate what Britons hoped would be the dawn of an exciting and prosperous new age.
Today, the mood in the Belgian capital will be altogether more sombre as Sir Tim Barrow walks those same streets carrying the document that will officially confirm Britain is ending its 44-year relationship with Europe.
Sir Tim, Britain’s most senior diplomat in Brussels, will hand-deliver Theresa May’s Article 50 letter to Donald Tusk, the European Council president, during a day of highly stage-managed political theatre. The era-defining document is already in Belgium this morning and its all-important contents – Mrs May’s opening gambit for Brexit negotiations – will be released to the public within minutes of Mr Tusk receiving it at lunchtime.
That will not only start the clock on two years of talks over Brexit, but will also give MPs their first chance to interrogate Mrs May over her Brexit policy in what is likely to be a marathon session in the Commons.
The Prime Minister signed the most important document of her career in Downing Street yesterday afternoon.
After she posed for a picture signing it, the letter, which runs to several pages, was taken to Belgium overnight by a civil servant accompanied by a guard, to ensure there could be no lastminute hitches today. It is now in the possession of Sir Tim, the UK’s permanent representative to the EU.
Mrs May chose to sign the letter in her seat at the Cabinet table, a portrait of Robert Walpole, considered Britain’s first prime minister, looking down upon her and with a Union flag planted by her side for the occasion.
While the letter was in transit last night, Mrs May made “goodwill” phone calls to key European leaders including Mr Tusk, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president.
Mr Tusk confirmed via Twitter just after 6.30pm last night that he had already received his phone call.
This morning Mrs May will hold a special meeting of the Cabinet at 8am, in the same way that she does on Budget day, to give ministers a final briefing on the contents of the letter and on what happens next.
As she begins her weekly Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament at noon, Sir Tim will set off on his short journey in Brussels. Details of exactly how and where he will meet Mr Tusk, as well as his planned route, have been kept tightly under wraps because of fears that Remainers might try to intercept the letter in a final act of defiance.
However, if Sir Tim follows normal protocol for the delivery of important documents – though there will be nothing normal about his job today – he will leave his office in central Brussels and walk the 150 yards to the European Council building where Mr Tusk has his own office.
The handover is due to take place at 12.30, at which point Mr Tusk is planning to tweet that he has received it. The two-year countdown to Britain’s exit from the EU will officially start the moment Mr Tusk has the letter in his hand.
He will pose for posterity receiving the letter from Sir Tim, then walk to the front of the Europa building – also known as “the egg” – part of the EC complex, to make a brief statement.
At the same time, Mrs May will make a statement to the House of Commons
confirming that the Brexit process has begun and setting out the contents of the letter. Downing Street will publish the letter and place it in the Commons and the Lords once the Prime Minister has spoken. Although no details of the letter have been released in advance, insiders have suggested it will broadly stick to the principles set out by the Prime Minister in her landmark Brexit speech at Lancaster House, London, in January. The key points she raised during that speech included controlling our own laws, strengthening the Union, maintaining the Common Travel Area with Ireland, co controlling migration and co-operation in the fight against crime and terroris terrorism. The most contentiousconte points will be around migration and trade: Mrs May will fight for a freefr trade agreement with Europe and c controlled migration, but EU leaders havehav made it clear that access to the single market is only possible with freedom of movement for EU citizens. In the Commons, Jeremy Corbyn, th the Labour leader, will respond t to Mrs May’s statement, beg beginning an afternoon of interro interrogation for the Prime Minister in the Commons that is sc scheduled to last for at least 75 minutes. As soon as Mrs May’s grillin grilling is over, she and memb members of the Cabinet will begin calling their count counterparts across the EU to begin the Government c charm offensive. This evening Mr Tusk will fly to Malta for a Congress of the European People’s Pa Party, the coalition of centre-ri centre-right political parties, at which heh will have a chance to discuss thet Article 50 letter with deleg delegates including Mrs Merkel, Mr Junker and the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Mr Tusk will s send his formal reply to Mrs May on Friday.