What is Article 50 and what happens next?
What is Article 50?
Article 50 is the name of the agreement explaining how a country can leave the EU. Created as part of the Treaty of Lisbon, it was signed by all members of the EU in 2009.
The document states that a country has two years to agree the terms of it's departure from the EU, and that time can only be extended with agreement of all other members.
The terms of the departure must be approved by the majority of member states, which is 72% of markets.
A letter triggering Article 50 was delivered to Donald Tusk, Wednesday 29th March. Read the letter in full.
What happens next?
The EU will give a formal response to the UK within 48 hours
There will be a meeting of the 27 other EU states without the UK, to discuss their approach and response
Formal negotiations are expected to start by June
The UK and EU leaders have two years to discuss what their relationship will be like once the UK has left the EU
The UK government will begin to introduce legislation to leave the EU by moving all EU laws into British law
Once negotiations are complete the Houses of Parliament, European Council and European Parliament will vote on any deal
UK should exit from the EU by the end of March 2019
Articles you may be interested in: