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Tuesday, 25th April - 1st May 2017
‘Real’ Brexit talks will only begin after snap general election That was the message from Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU Commission, to Theresa May during a phone conversation between the pair following her call for an early return to the polls. “Following their conversation, the president considers that the real political negotiations on Article 50 with the United Kingdom will start after the elections foreseen for the 8th June,” said a commission spokesman, referring to EU treaty rule that regulates the exit of a member state from the bloc.
This runs contrary to the remarks earlier this week in response to the news of a snap general election by a spokesperson for the Prime Minister, who said that the two-year talks with Brussels would continue without delay. Juncker is set to visit London on Wednesday following an invitation by May to discuss the the article 50 negotiations. Brexit talks must conclude by 29th March 2019 according to the rules of Article 50, which allow for a two-year negotiating period. The UK prime minister made the announcement of a quick general election on the steps of 10 Downing Street in London, after months of favourable polls for the Conservative Party, and after months of Downing Street denying she would call one. May said: “I want to explain the reasons
for that decision, what will happen next and the choice facing the British people when you come to vote in this election. Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership, and since I became Prime Minister the Government has delivered precisely that. “Despite predictions of immediate financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high, record numbers of jobs, and economic growth that has exceeded all expectations. “We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed by the referendum result.” She added: “It was with reluctance that I decided the country needed this election but it is with conviction that I say it is necessary…so tomorrow let the House of
Commons vote for an election, let everybody put forward their proposals for Brexit and their vision for Government.” The Tory leader also took the opportunity to take a dig at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. May added: “It will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest, with me as your Prime Minister, or weak and unstable government under a coalition led by Jeremy Corbyn…every vote for the Conservatives will make me stronger when I negotiate for Britain with the European Union.”
planned Spanish State Visit to the UK in June will be postponed until July,” Buckingham Palace announced in a tweet. The Spanish king and his wife Letizia had been scheduled to visit Britain on June 68, but will now do so a month later, on July 12-14. The Spanish royal couple had already been forced to postpone their planned visit last year because of the political crisis in Spain. The last Spanish state visit to Britain was that of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in 1986.
Postponed Spanish visit Following the announcement, Spain's King Felipe VI has postponed his visit to Britain due to the UK’s general election on 8th June. “Her Majesty The Queen and The King of Spain have agreed that the
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