EU summit to decide UK's divorce direction

For a smoother exit of UK from EU, a clear and coherent strategy and thinking are necessary so that all parties can move towards a new constructive partnership.

Published Wed, Apr 26, 2017 · 09:50 PM

Brexit

London

THE leaders of the Euro-pean Union (EU) states will meet on Saturday for a special Brexit summit without UK Prime Minister Theresa May. The meeting of the 27 EU states will seek to set Europe's direction in the forthcoming divorce talks with the United Kingdom by formally approving negotiating guidelines put forward by European Council president Donald Tusk in March.

The EU summit, which comes after the UK government triggered Article 50 last month, heralds the formal start of the second phase of the long-running Brexit saga. Should the EU 27 formally adopt the Brexit guidelines, the European Commission will begin to flesh them out with a view to developing more detailed negotiating directives to be approved at the end of May.