LONDON: The British parliament is set to debate for the first time the government’s bill to trigger the country’s departure from the European Union, following a referendum last year in which a majority voted for Brexit. Britain has had a love-hate relationship with Brussels since joining what was then the European Economic Community in 1973. The EU’s top Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has said there should be an agreement in place ahead of the 2019 European Parliament elections. In her Brexit speech, she gave no detail of what the new entry criteria will be for Europeans, but acknowledged that this demand would mean Britain leaving the EU’s single market. May has refused to confirm that EU citizens already in Britain will be able to stay after Brexit until similar guarantees are offered to Britons living elsewhere in the bloc.

Source: New Strait Times January 31, 2017 02:03 UTC