EU leaders say they expect Britain to be given just 17 months to get a deal on Brexit as a summit a month after Theresa May triggers Article 50 was announced.
The Prime Minister today said the letter triggering Britain’s formal withdrawal from the bloc will be “one of the most important documents in our country’s recent history”.
Leaders from EU countries will hold talks on April 29 – a month after the letter is due to be sent – in order to agree a negotiating position ahead of withdrawal talks with Britain.
The timing of the summit will give leaders of the EU’s 27 other member states time to consider European Council President Donald Tusk’s response to the PM’s triggering of Article 50.
The 27 states will then come together at the extraordinary summit in April to agree their position and give European Commission chief negotiator Michel Barnier a mandate for exit negotiations.
Mr Tusk announced the date of the summit on Twitter, adding: "Priority must be certainty, clarity for all: citizens, companies & member states."
It comes as Mrs May told ministers her letter giving notice of Brexit will "set the tone for our new relationship with Europe and the world", in a signal that it could be a substantial statement of the UK's intentions rather than a simple message informing the EU that she is triggering Article 50.
Mrs May told ministers the invoking of Article 50 on March 29 would be a "historic event" which will see Britain begin a "bold new chapter as a prosperous, open and global nation", her official spokesman said.
The timing of the EU leaders’ summit means substantive negotiations will not begin until at least May, giving the PM just 17 months to get a deal, according to Mr Barnier's timetable.
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The Frenchman has called for talks to be completed by October 2018 to give time for any agreement to be ratified before the UK leaves, expected on March 29 2019 under the two-year Article 50 process.
Mr Tusk said his priority was making sure the "divorce" was the "least painful" for the EU.
At a press conference in Brussels, he said: "In view of what was announced in London yesterday, I would like to inform you that I will call a European Council on Saturday April 29 to adopt the guidelines for the Brexit talks.
"As you all know, I personally wish the UK hadn't chosen to leave the EU, but 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.
"Our main priority for the negotiations must 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 our important partners and friends around the world."
