Donald Tusk – Photo EU Council
(BRUSSELS) – EU Council president Donald Tusk, called European Council for 29th April Tuesday, where EU leaders will adopt the guidelines for the Brexit talks, set in motion by triggering of Article 50, expected 29th March.
Mr Tusk made his announcement following British prime minister Theresa May’s decision Monday that she intends to officially notify the EU of the UK’s intention to leave at the end of the month.
Mrs May will not be attending the special summit, which will be held not long after voting in the first round of the French presidential election.
Announcing the date at a meeting with Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe, Mr Tusk said he wished the UK hadn’t chosen to leave the EU, but he understood that the majority of British voters decided otherwise: “Therefore, we must do everything we can to make the process of divorce the least painful for the EU,” he said.
Mr Tusk added that the main priority for the talks should be “to create as much certainty and clarity as possible for all citizens, companies and member states that will be negatively affected by Brexit as well as for the EU’s important partners and friends around the world.”
