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Theresa May, U.K. prime minister, left, waves as she stands with Donald Tusk, president of the European Union (EU), outside number 10 Downing Street in London, on Thursday, April 6, 2017
The start of Brexit negotiations scheduled for June 19 is set to be delayed after a U.K. General Election produced a hung parliament on Friday morning.
The U.K. will have to clear the current political uncertainty and define its next government before it can negotiate with the European Union. At the same time, the country is under pressure given that the two-year time limit to conclude Brexit talks continues to tick.
President Donald Tusk of the European Council said on Twitter: “We don’t know when Brexit talks start. We know then they must end. Do your best to avoid a ‘no deal’ as result of ‘no negotiations’.”
The EU’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, also said on Twitter that the negotiations will start when the U.K. is ready. “Timetable and EU positions are clear. Let’s put our minds together on striking a deal,” he said.
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Theresa May called the election to garner stronger support and more power when discussing Brexit with the EU. However, this seems to have totally backfired raising questions as to who will negotiate Brexit and what sort of Brexit the country will look for.
