U.K. formally files for divorce from EU
Brexit separation is set to take two years
LONDON — Britain filed for divorce from the European Union on Wednesday, with fond words and promises of friendship that could not disguise the historic nature of the schism — or the years of argument and hardnosed bargaining ahead as the U.K. in a “great turning point” leaves the embrace of the bloc for an uncertain future as “global Britain.”
Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the two-year divorce process — dubbed Brexit, one of the most consequential diplomatic events in Britain since World War II — in a six-page letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk, vowing that Britain will maintain a “deep and special partnership” with its neighbors in the bloc. In response, Mr. Tusk told Britain: “We already miss you.”
Ms. May’s invocation of Article 50 of the EU’s key treaty sets the clock ticking on two years of negotiations until Britain becomes the first major nation to leave the union — as Big Ben bongs midnight on March 29, 2019.
The U.K.’s departure is seen as coming at a troubled time for the EU, which has grown from six founding members six decades ago to a vast, largely borderless
span of 28 nations and half-abillion people. Nationalist and populist parties are on the march across the continent in revolt against the bloc’s mission of “ever-closer union.” And in Washington, President Donald Trump has derided pillars of Western order built up since World War II.
“This is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back,” Ms. May told lawmakers in the House of Commons, moments after her letter was hand-delivered to Mr. Tusk in Brussels by Britain’s ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow.
In the letter, Ms. May said the two sides should “engage with one another constructively and respectfully, in a spirit of sincere cooperation.”
But for all the warmth, the next two years are expected to be a tough test of the notion that divorcees can remain good friends. Ms. May has frequently stressed her willingness to walk away from the table if a good deal proves elusive.
Although some legal experts say that an Article 50 declaration is technically reversible, British and EU officials have both said they believe it is not.
To make matters more difficult, the final deal will require votes in perhaps 38 legislatures across Europe, as well as in the British Parliament.
It is what William Hague, a former foreign secretary, calls “the most complex divorce ever in history.”
Ms. May is under pressure from her Conservative Party and Britain’s largely Euroskeptic press not to concede too much in exchange for a good trade deal with the EU. For their part, the other 27 members of the bloc are viewed as needing to stick together and stand firm as they ride out the biggest threat in the union’s history.
Brexit has been hailed by populists who hope the U.K. is only the first in a series of EU exits. European leaders, including Germany’s Angela Merkel, are determined to stop that from happening.
Britons voted 52 percent to 48 percent in favor of leaving the bloc in a referendum that stunned the world nine months ago, and they remain deeply divided over Brexit. Polls show that voters who backed “leave” were driven by concerns that immigration was out of control under the EU’s free-movement laws and that Britain needed to restore its sovereignty.
After the referendum, thenPrime Minister David Cameron resigned and Ms. May was elected by members of her conservative party to take the helm.
In the pro-Brexit heartland of Dover on England’s south coast, some were jubilant.
“I’m a local church minister, and I said to my wife, ‘All I want to do before I die is see my country free from the shackles of Europe,’ ” said the Rev. Mike Piper, 70, buying a copy of the Sun tabloid with the front-page headline “Dover and Out.”
But many young Britons — who have grown up in the EU and voted overwhelmingly for Britain to remain a member — worried about how much they would lose.
“I like traveling to other countries, and it will be a trouble now,” said Elaine Morrison, an 18-year-old who was traveling to Barcelona with friends. “The pound is weaker so it will cost more to buy the euros, and the costs of travel will be more expensive. And there will be red tape.”
Ms. May’s six-page letter to Mr. Tusk stressed that Britons want to remain “committed partners and allies to our friends across the continent.”
But Ms. May also asserted that without a good deal, “our cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened.”
Mr. Tusk said he will respond by Friday with draft negotiating guidelines for the remaining 27 member states to consider. They’ll meet April 29 to finalize their platform. Talks between the EU’s chief negotiator, French diplomat Michel Barnier, and his British counterpart, Brexit Secretary David Davis, are likely to start in the second half of May.
As in many divorces, the first area of conflict is likely to be money.
The EU wants Britain to pay a bill of as much as 50 billion euros ($63 billion) to cover pension liabilities for EU staff and other commitments the U.K. has agreed to.
Britain acknowledges it will have to pay something, but is expected to quibble over the size of the tab.
Britain also wants to strike “a bold and ambitious free trade agreement” with the bloc, but says it will restore control of immigration, ending the right of EU citizens to live and work in Britain.
The two sides also appear to disagree on how the talks will unfold.
Both Britain and the EU say a top priority will be guaranteeing the rights of 3 million EU citizens living in Britain, and 1 million Britons living elsewhere in the bloc.
Brexit has profound implications for Britain’s economy — the world’s fifth largest — society and even unity. The divisive decision has given new impetus to the drive for Scottish independence and shaken the foundations of Northern Ireland’s peace settlement.