London: The UK government here on Wednesday (29th March) officially triggered the article 50 initiating the beginning of the end of a relationship that has endured for 44 years.
Last week on 20th March Prime Minister Theresa May in a press conference as stated about triggering the article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, with the beginning of the legal process that must end in two years’ time with Britain leaving the EU.
Theresa May.
“This is an historic moment for which there can be no turning back. Britain is leaving the European Union,” Mrs May was quoted saying by the media at the House of Commons in London.
A few minutes earlier in Brussels, the British Permanent Representative to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow, delivered a six-page formal letter of notification to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, in Brussels, notes CNN in its report on its official website.
At the headquarters of the European Council Wednesday morning, Tim Barrow reportedly emerged from a black Jaguar holding a briefcase containing the letter signed by Theresa May in Downing Street on Tuesday night. His route had been kept secret in an effort to avoid any attempts to intercept the letter.
This official start to the Brexit process comes nine months after the UK voted in a hotly contested referendum that exposed deep divisions across the country.
The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, one of the leading figures in the referendum campaign, expressed his delight at the outcome. “It’s a great day,” he said as he left a meeting of the Cabinet in Downing Street.