UK triggers Article 50 clause to leave the European Union

“Today, the government acts on the democratic will of the British people,” British Prime Minister Theresa May said in a speech to Parliament.

“And, it acts too on the clear and convincing position of this house. A few minutes ago in Brussels, the United Kingdom’s permanent representative to the EU handed a letter to the president of the European Council on my behalf confirming the government’s decision to invoke Article 50 on leaving the European Union.”

It’s the action British voters wanted in a 2016 referendum to sever a range of political and economic ties with the continent. The vote shocked the world, and was later seen as the same kind of voter unrest with the status quo that allowed Donald Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton in November.

The U.K. now has two years to work out the terms of its separation with the EU. If negotiations go well, the U.K. can leave the EU earlier, but it will formally drop out of the union on March 29, 2019, even if no deal is reached.

The British government aims to renegotiate its trade deals with the EU, and questions remain about whether it will still be allowed to have access to the union’s single market. The European Union is the Brits’ largest trading partner and the single market is essentially a free trade zone.

Leaving the European Union will allow the U.K. to negotiate its own trade deals with the rest of the world and will free it from a number of EU regulations that many British critics of the group say cost British citizens and hurt the economy.

Many have predicted the negotiations will be difficult due to European resentment over the decision of British voters to leave the European Union.

The Scottish, who voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU, are currently considering leaving the U.K. in order to stay in the European Union. The Scottish parliament voted earlier this week to hold another referendum on whether to declare independence from the U.K.