About nine months after the shock Brexit referendum that saw the UK vote to leave the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May will officially notify the EU of the their intention to leave on Wednesday, March 29.
UK PM Theresa May is to trigger Article 50 on Wednesday 29 March, formally starting the Brexit process https://t.co/dEgEoIylrJ
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 20, 2017
This process is called "Article 50" and begins the actual withdrawal from the EU. After triggering Article 50, the UK can begin negotiating terms of the departure from the organization and iron out any future relations with other states in the EU. This should take about two years, with the UK fully leaving the EU in March 2019.
From the BBC:
A spokesman said the government wants negotiations to start as soon as possible but added that they "fully appreciate it is right that the other 27 EU states have time to agree their position".
Mrs May said last year that she intended to notify the EU of the UK's intention to leave by the end of March. The move was approved by Parliament two weeks ago when peers and MPs passed unamended a bill giving the prime minister the authority to set the process in motion.
EU leaders have said they want to conclude the talks within 18 months to allow the terms of the UK's exit to be ratified by the UK Parliament and the European Parliament, as well as approved by the necessary majority of EU states.
When the Brexit vote occurred, many people doubted as to whether or not the UK was actually going to go through with the plan. It looks as though this is certainly going to be the case.