United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May announced Sunday that Britain will begin the formal process of negotiating its exit out of the European Union in March of 2017, with the aim of leaving the international group by spring of 2019.
“The people have spoken; we will deliver on that,” May said in an interview on BBC, following speculation that an announcement of a “Great Repeal Bill” was imminent this weekend.
The U.K. voted in favor of a “Brexit” in June, but until now had not set a timetable for untying itself from the union. The vote prompted then-Prime Minister David Cameron, who had lobbied fervently to remain a part of the EU, to resign. May was elected as his replacement.
May announced plans to repeal the European Community Act of 1972, which was passed one year before the U.K. joined the EU, which made EU law sovereign over British law. The repeal would not take effect until the U.K. has completed its exit from the EU.
May’s interview Sunday comes before an appearance at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, where Brexit secretary, David Davis, is expected to announce the “Brexit” plans.
The United Kingdom “will be an independent, sovereign nation,” May said.
