Britain will start the formal process of exiting the European Union Wednesday by invoking a clause within the Treaty of Lisbon, known as Article 50, that fires a metaphorical starting gun on a two-year negotiation between London and Brussels.
Below is a near-term timeline for key events in the days and weeks ahead:
Wednesday:
12:00 London time: Prime Minister Theresa May will appear in Parliament for her regular weekly debate with U.K. lawmakers that will likely be dominated by the impending Brexit talks and challenging questions from opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn with respect to the government's priorities and guarantees for workers' rights.
12:20 - 12:30: Britain's EU Ambassador, Sir Tim Barrrow, will deliver a six-page letter, signed by May late Tuesday, to European Council President Donald Tusk.
12:30: Around that time, May will rise in Parliament to address lawmakers with a formal statement confirming delivery of the letter, with a likely reference to the 'will of the people' expressed in the June 23 Brexit vote in which 52% of the electorate opted to leave the European Union.
12:45: Tusk will issue a formal statement in Brussels in reply to receipt of the Article 50 letter, with the expectation that he will outline the structure of the European response and perhaps signal the priorities of its negotiating position.
19:00: May will sit down for a nationally televised interview on BBC television with Andrew Neil, a veteran journalist and broadcaster who is expected to test the Prime Minister with tough questions about her ability to meet the expectations of both voters and business leaders and any suggestion she may call an early election to shore up support within her party and shut-down any potential challenge from a Labour opposition that continues to sink in the polls.
