Image copyright EPA Image caption Theresa May met European Council president Donald Tusk last week in London

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to trigger the formal process of leaving the European Union early next year, according to a top EU official.

European Council President Donald Tusk said Mrs May had told him the UK could be ready to begin talks by February.

The BBC's Tom Bateman says this is the clearest sign yet of when the two-year withdrawal process may start.

Mrs May's office said it would not be launched this year, but did not confirm Mr Tusk's account.

Formal negotiations over the withdrawal cannot begin until the UK triggers Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the formal mechanism for leaving the union.

The timing of the process has so-far been clouded by uncertainty, with no clear signal from Mrs May's government on when it would begin.

There is also confusion over the nature of the the UK's future relationship with the bloc, especially whether it intends to remain a member of the single market.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that the European Union was in a "critical situation" as EU leaders met

Mr Tusk spoke from the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, where Europe's 27 other leaders are gathered for an informal summit without the UK.

Speaking about a meeting with the British PM in London last week, Mr Tusk said: "Prime Minister May was very open and honest with me.

"She declared that it's almost impossible to trigger Article 50 this year but it's quite likely that they will be ready maybe in January maybe in February next year."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker insisted that the UK could not get access to the single market without accepting the free movement of workers.

Mrs May has indicated that in any negotiations, her government would insist on placing curbs on EU citizens entering the UK.

'High-wire act'

Our correspondent says invoking Article 50 early next year may be ambitious, as the prime minister has made clear she she wants time to prepare the best deal for Britain.

During the Bratislava summit, the 27 remaining members states unveiled a six-month "road map" of measures designed to restore public confidence in the EU.

But rifts over the record influx of refugees and migrants were on display as soon as the meeting ended.

Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, said: "I'm not satisfied with the conclusions on growth or on immigration.

"To define as a step forward today's document on migrants would require a form of fantasy, a verbal high-wire act."</s>PM could start formal Brexit process by February, Donald Tusk says

Theresa May has declared that she wants to begin the formal process of leaving the European Union early next year, according to one of Brussels' leading figures.

European Council president Donald Tusk said the Prime Minister told him during their meeting at Downing Street last week that she would be ready to trigger Article 50 to begin Brexit by February 2017.

Formal negotiations between the UK and the EU cannot begin until she starts the two year process, which Brexit Secretary David Davis has insisted will be triggered without a parliamentary vote.

With Britain's withdrawal clouded in confusion and no clear signal on whether the country intends to stay in the single market or not, Europe's 27 other leaders gathered for an informal summit in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, without the Prime Minister.

Speaking about his meeting with the PM, Mr Tusk told a summit press conference: "Prime Minister May was very open and honest with me.

"She declared that it's almost impossible to trigger Article 50 this year but it's quite likely that they will be ready maybe in January maybe in February next year."

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon vowed to block any proposals for an EU army while Britain remains a member of the union in a move likely to anger European leaders.

In his state of the union address on Wednesday, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker called for EU countries "to pool their defence capabilities in the form of a permanent structured co-operation", and proposed a European Defence Fund by the end of the year.

But Sir Michael said the UK would veto plans for any EU army that may rival Nato.

"That is not going to happen," he told The Times. "We are full members of the EU and we will go on resisting any attempt to set up a rival to Nato.

"We have always been concerned about unnecessarily duplicating what we already have in Nato."

In Bratislava, Mr Juncker insisted Britain cannot get access to the European single market without accepting the free movement of workers.

The conundrum has become central to the Brexit debate and has caused friction within the Government as ministers weigh up how to maintain the benefits of the trading bloc while regaining full control of the UK's borders - a goal deemed by Mrs May as essential to properly implement the referendum result.

The PM slapped down Mr Davis for saying it was "very improbable" that the UK could be in the single market and end free movement, and then insisted the Government would not offer a "running commentary" on negotiations.

Commenting on the issue, Mr Juncker told the press conference: "There's a clear interlink as we made clear since the very beginning between the access to the internal market and the basic principles of the internal market, mainly the one of the freedom of movement of workers.

"We are sticking to that position and this is not a game between prime ministers leaving and prime ministers remaining, this is about people in Europe.

"It's about the rights of ordinary people and workers, of those living in Europe, and so I can't see any possibility of compromising on that very issue."</s>The UK is expected to launch formal talks to leave the European Union in January or February next year, one of Europe’s top leaders said after a special summit without Britain, aimed at rallying the bloc battered by Brexit and the migration crisis.

The European council president, Donald Tusk, said British prime minister Theresa May had told him article 50 was “likely” to be triggered in January or February next year, dashing remain voters’ hopes of delaying the UK’s EU exit.



The British government was also sent a stark warning not to expect any compromise on the EU’s cherished principle of free movement of people, if it wants access to the single market.



Speaking of his meeting with May in London last week, Tusk said the prime minister had been “open and honest” about her difficulties in launching EU exit talks this year. 



“She declared that it was almost impossible to trigger article 50 this year but it’s quite likely that they will be ready, maybe in January, maybe in February, next year.” He said the rest of the EU was ready to start negotiations tomorrow.

Standing at his side, Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European commission, vowed there would be no compromise on free movement of workers. “This is not a game,” he said. “It is about the rights of ordinary people, of workers in Europe, so I can’t see any possibility of compromising on that very issue.”



Brexit was not top of the agenda at the one-day summit in Bratislava, as European leaders concentrated on charting a way forward for a bloc that has stumbled from crisis to crisis in recent years. 



The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said the EU was in “a critical situation” not only because of the Brexit referendum but also “because of other difficulties that we have”.

This was only the second time in 43 years EU leaders have met without the UK and the mood was solemn. At an earlier gathering the week after Brexit, EU leaders “were still shellshocked, but now it has sunk in”, one EU source said.

Nevertheless there was determination to show a united front – for a few hours at least.

In a lunchtime cruise along the Danube on a German-registered luxury boat, steered by a German captain, EU leaders quickly agreed to reassert their earlier pledge not to negotiate with the UK until the government invokes article 50.

Earlier in the day in the gilded halls of Bratislava castle, EU leaders discussed what had gone wrong with the EU. One EU source described the discussion as polite, with no recriminations, a sharp change in tone following a ferocious war of words between Hungary and Luxembourg over asylum seekers.

But the friendly tone partly dissipated once leaders had left the castle walls.

Italy’s leader, Matteo Renzi, refused to appear at a press conference with his French and German counterparts, declaring that he “was not satisfied with the conclusions on growth and immigration”. Renzi, who faces a difficult referendum vote in October, said the EU was still far from meeting its post-Brexit challenges. On migration “the usual things were said again,” he said.

The same splits were on display, as Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, slammed the EU’s migration policy as “self-destructive and naive”. Unless Germany imposed a firm ceiling on the number of immigrants it is willing to take in, a “suction effect” would continue to draw masses to Europe. “Something must happen,” he said.

The Visegrád group of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia reaffirmed their hostility to refugee quotas. In a surprise paper sent to EU leaders on the morning of the summit, the central European quartet also mounted a robust defence of free movement of labour, with implicit critique of “intra-EU protectionism”, following debates in France on foreign workers undercutting locals and the Brexit vote centred on immigration.

These countries will be staunch defenders of the principle of free movement of people in any talks with the UK. Brexit must avoid “the risk of creating second-rate citizens in the United Kingdom,” said Robert Fico, Slovakia’s prime minister. Brexit negotiations should “not damage our interests” and must show “it is worth being a member of the EU,” he said.

In an effort to avoid confrontation, Tusk had steered the meeting to focus on areas the 27 leaders could agree on: a mix of plans on security, counter-terrorism and moves to take more control of globalisation, against a backdrop of stubbornly-high youth unemployment in southern Europe. 



Countries pledged to send border guards and more equipment to the secure the EU’s external border in Bulgaria, although exact numbers have yet to be finalised. Earlier this week, Juncker called for an extra 200 border guards and 50 vehicles to be stationed at the Bulgarian frontier by next month.

On paper, leaders also promised immediate implementation of a joint declaration with Nato, after signing a cooperation pact in July aimed at overcoming decades of debate about securing Europe’s borders. France and Germany have swung behind plans for a common European defence headquarters and shared military hardware, and EU leaders have now promised to agree a common plan by December. 



Big questions remain unresolved, kicked down the road to further summits in 2017. Tusk said the Bratislava meeting had paved the way for agreeing a range of economic and security measures in March 2017, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the European project.

But few observers expect serious changes, such as far-reaching reform of the eurozone, until French and German elections are completed later that year.</s>The UK could begin the formal process of leaving the European Union early next year, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

Following the referendum result in June, no specific date has yet been given for when the government will trigger article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to begin the withdrawal from the bloc.

But at an informal EU summit in Bratislava, Mr Tusk said Prime Minister Theresa May had told him she expects to begin the process in early 2017.

He said: “Prime Minister May was very open and honest with me.

“She declared that it's almost impossible to trigger Article 50 this year, but it's quite likely that they will be ready maybe in January, maybe in February, next year.”

He admitted Britain’s vote to leave was a “sad moment” for Europe, but said Brexit negotiations must prioritise the interests of the countries that remain members of the EU and “not the leaving country”, Sky News reported.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker also set out his position on the forthcoming Brexit talks at the summit.

He said there was no possibility of the UK gaining access to the single market without accepting the free movement of people.

“There is a clear interlink as we made clear at the very beginning between the access to the internal market and the basic principles of the internal market – namely the free movement of workers and we are sticking to that position," he said.

“This is not a game between prime ministers leaving and prime ministers remaining, this is about people in Europe. So I cannot see any possibility of compromising on that very issue.

“We want to have very good, very close relation with the UK. At the same time, it is not possible for these negotiations to damage our interests.”

Speaking earlier, Mr Tusk told European leaders the UK’s referendum result was due to “failures” of British politicians.

He said national leaders had a responsibility to the EU, saying: “It also means refraining from the constant accusations aimed at the Union, which sometimes are justified, but more often than not they serve as an easy excuse for one's own failures.

“This was also one of the reasons behind the Brexit vote.”</s>Britain is expected to start formal talks to leave the European Union in January or February next year, one of Europe’s top leaders said after a special summit without Britain, aimed at rallying the bloc battered by Brexit and the migration crisis.

European council president Donald Tusk said British prime minister Theresa May had told him article 50 was “likely” to be triggered in January or February next year, dashing remain voters’ hopes of delaying the UK’s EU exit.

The British government was also sent a stark warning not to expect any compromise on the EU’s cherished principle of free movement of people, if it wants access to the single market.

Speaking of his meeting with Ms May in London last week, Mr Tusk said the prime minister had been “open and honest” about her difficulties in launching EU exit talks this year.

“She declared that it was almost impossible to trigger article 50 this year but it’s quite likely that they will be ready, maybe in January, maybe in February, next year.” He said the rest of the EU was ready to start negotiations tomorrow.

Standing at his side, Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European commission, vowed there would be no compromise on free movement of workers. “This is not a game,” he said. “It is about the rights of ordinary people, of workers in Europe, so I can’t see any possibility of compromising on that very issue.”

Brexit was not top of the agenda at the one-day summit in Bratislava, as European leaders concentrated on charting a way forward for a bloc that has stumbled from crisis to crisis in recent years.

German chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU was in “a critical situation” not only because of the Brexit referendum but also “because of other difficulties that we have”.

This was only the second time in 43 years EU leaders have met without the UK and the mood was solemn. At an earlier gathering the week after Brexit, EU leaders “were still shellshocked, but now it has sunk in”, one EU source said.

Nevertheless there was determination to show a united front – for a few hours at least.

In a lunchtime cruise along the Danube on a German-registered luxury boat, steered by a German captain, EU leaders quickly agreed to reassert their earlier pledge not to negotiate with the UK until the government invokes article 50.

Earlier in the day in the gilded halls of Bratislava castle, EU leaders discussed what had gone wrong with the EU.

One EU source described the discussion as polite, with no recriminations, a sharp change in tone following a ferocious war of words between Hungary and Luxembourg over asylum seekers.

But the friendly tone partly dissipated once leaders had left the castle walls.

Italy’s leader, Matteo Renzi, refused to appear at a press conference with his French and German counterparts, declaring that he “was not satisfied with the conclusions on growth and immigration”. Renzi, who faces a difficult referendum vote in October, said the EU was still far from meeting its post-Brexit challenges. On migration “the usual things were said again,” he said.

The same splits were on display, as Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, slammed the EU’s migration policy as “self-destructive and naive”. Unless Germany imposed a firm ceiling on the number of immigrants it is willing to take in, a “suction effect” would continue to draw masses to Europe. “Something must happen,” he said.</s>Claims that Theresa May told one of Brussels' most senior figures she wants to trigger the formal process to pull Britain out of the European Union early next year are an “interpretation” of their conversation, a Downing Street source has said.

The European Council president Donald Tusk said the Prime Minister had told him during talks at No 10 last week that it was “quite likely” she would be ready to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty “maybe in January, maybe in February” 2017.

But a Downing Street source said Mrs May did not specifically mention January or February at the meeting and that Mr Tusk's comments were an interpretation of their conversation.

The PM “recognises the need to deliver on the public verdict without delay”, the source added.

With Britain's withdrawal clouded in confusion and no clear signal on whether the country intends to stay in the single market or not, Europe's 27 other leaders gathered on Friday for an informal summit in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, without the PM.

Speaking about his meeting with Mrs May, Mr Tusk told a summit press conference: “Prime Minister May was very open and honest with me.

“She declared that it's almost impossible to trigger Article 50 this year but it's quite likely that they will be ready maybe in January maybe in February next year.”

Formal negotiations between the UK and the EU cannot begin until she starts the two-year process, which Brexit Secretary David Davis has insisted will be triggered without a parliamentary vote.

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon vowed to block any proposals for an EU army while Britain remains a member of the union, in a move likely to anger European leaders.

In his state of the union address on Wednesday, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker called for EU countries “to pool their defence capabilities in the form of a permanent structured co-operation”, and proposed a European Defence Fund by the end of the year.

But Sir Michael said the UK would veto plans for any EU army that may rival Nato, as long as the country remained a member of the union.

“That is not going to happen,” he told The Times. “We are full members of the EU and we will go on resisting any attempt to set up a rival to Nato.

“We have always been concerned about unnecessarily duplicating what we already have in Nato.”

But former Liberal Democrat leader Lord (Menzies) Campbell said there was nothing the UK can do after Brexit to protect Nato from the potentially damaging effect of an EU army because it will not be able to veto its creation from outside the union.

The peer, who is a member of the UK parliamentary delegation to the Nato Assembly, said: “Even as a fervent European, I regard the creation of a European army as a deeply damaging, long-term threat to Nato.

“The cornerstone of European defence is Nato, of which the United States is the most senior partner contributing 75% of the budget of the alliance.

“The creation of a European army will only encourage isolationists in the United States to argue that Europe should be responsible for its own defence.

“At a time when few of the Nato countries can meet the minimum requirement of 2% of GDP defence expenditure, parallel headquarters and staff make no sense whatsoever. ”

In Bratislava, Mr Juncker insisted Britain cannot get access to the European single market without accepting the free movement of workers.

The conundrum has become central to the Brexit debate and has caused friction within the Government as ministers weigh up how to maintain the benefits of the trading bloc while regaining full control of the UK's borders - a goal deemed by Mrs May as essential to properly implement the referendum result.

Mr Juncker said: “There's a clear interlink as we made clear since the very beginning between the access to the internal market and the basic principles of the internal market, mainly the one of the freedom of movement of workers.

“We are sticking to that position and this is not a game between prime ministers leaving and prime ministers remaining, this is about people in Europe.

“It's about the rights of ordinary people and workers, of those living in Europe, and so I can't see any possibility of compromising on that very issue.”</s>Theresa May will start Brexit negotiations with Brussels at the start of next year, EU leaders were told today.

The Prime Minister has informed EU leaders it is 'quite likely' she will be ready to begin the talks in either January or February. It would pave the way for Britain to have left by 2019.

European Council president Donald Tusk revealed the timetable for Brexit at a meeting in Bratislava of the leaders of the 27 countries that will remain EU members.

He said Mrs May, who was not at the summit, had informed him of her desire to start the two-year formal exit process in the new year when he met her in Downing Street a week ago.

Today, at the end of the day of talks in the Slovak capital, Mr Tusk stressed that they would 'protect the interests of the 27, not the leaving country' in negotiations.

'I hope we will be effective and maybe even stronger than before the British referendum,' he added.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said he could not 'see any possibility of compromising' on the issue of not allowing Britain to restrict immigration from the EU if it wants to retain membership of the single market.

The meeting was supposed to be a show of unity, but it ended in farce with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi breaking ranks to admit behind closed doors that the leaders were at loggerheads over how to move forward without Britain.

'I can't give joint press conference with Merkel and Hollande as I won't follow a script to make people believe we all agree,' he said. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban rebuked the other leaders whom he said had failed to change their 'self-destructive and naive' immigration policies.

He said that without Germany imposing a firm ceiling on the number of immigrants it is willing to take in, a 'suction effect' would continue to draw masses to Europe. 'Something must happen in that respect,' he said.

Mr Orban led a charge of those leaders wanting Brexit to be a turning point with Brussels forced to hand back some powers to member states.

Mr Tusk, who chaired the meeting, said: 'It was a sad moment for Europe when the British people decided to leave.

'Our assessment is sober but not defeatist. While the EU is not perfect it is what we have best. That is why we are determined to correct the past mistakes and move on as an EU as 27.'</s>An influential group of Eastern European countries will veto any Brexit deal that diminishes the rights of their citizens who live and work in Britain.

The Visegrad Four (V4) - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - want a guarantee that their nationals 'are equal' before agreeing to any Brexit deal.

Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia, said: 'Unless we feel a guarantee that these people are equal, we will veto any agreement between the EU and Britain.'

Theresa May has so far refused to guarantee the status of EU nationals in the UK.

But the Prime Minister insisted she wants them to stay after Brexit - if the rights of Britons overseas are respected.

'Unless we feel a guarantee that these people (living and working in Britain) are equal, we will veto any agreement between the EU and Britain.

'I think Britain knows this is an issue for us where there's no room for compromise.'

EU officials on Friday also underlined that there could be no granting Britain access to the EU's single market unless London accepts the freedom of movement of workers that lies at the heart of European Union accords.

Mr Fico reiterated that he was opposed to any 'cherry-picking' in negotiations, saying EU freedoms must remain.

His comments come after Downing Street poured cold water on claims that Mrs May told one of Brussels' most senior figures that she wants to trigger the formal process to pull Britain out of the EU early next year.

European Council president Donald Tusk said the Prime Minister told him during talks at Number 10 last week it was 'quite likely' she would be ready to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty 'maybe in January, maybe in February' 2017.

But a Downing Street source said Mrs May did not specifically mention January or February at the meeting and that Mr Tusk's comments were an 'interpretation' of their conversation.

The PM 'recognises the need to deliver on the public verdict without delay', the source added.

Formal negotiations between the UK and the EU cannot begin until she starts the two-year process, which Brexit Secretary David Davis has insisted will be triggered without a parliamentary vote.

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon vowed to block any proposals for an EU army while Britain remains a member of the union, in a move likely to anger European leaders.

In his state of the union address on Wednesday, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker called for EU countries 'to pool their defence capabilities in the form of a permanent structured co-operation', and proposed a European Defence Fund by the end of the year.

But Sir Michael said the UK would veto plans for any EU army that may rival Nato, as long as the country remained a member of the union.

'That is not going to happen,' he told The Times. 'We are full members of the EU and we will go on resisting any attempt to set up a rival to Nato.

'We have always been concerned about unnecessarily duplicating what we already have in Nato.'

But former Liberal Democrat leader Lord (Menzies) Campbell said there was nothing the UK can do after Brexit to protect Nato from the potentially damaging effect of an EU army because it will not be able to veto its creation from outside the union.

The peer, who is a member of the UK parliamentary delegation to the Nato Assembly, said: 'Even as a fervent European, I regard the creation of a European army as a deeply damaging, long-term threat to Nato.

'The cornerstone of European defence is Nato, of which the United States is the most senior partner, contributing 75% of the budget of the alliance.

'The creation of a European army will only encourage isolationists in the United States to argue that Europe should be responsible for its own defence.

'At a time when few of the Nato countries can meet the minimum requirement of 2% of GDP defence expenditure, parallel headquarters and staff make no sense whatsoever. '</s>EU's Tusk: May indicated could trigger Brexit talks in Jan-Feb

BRATISLAVA, Sept 16 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has signalled that she could be ready to launch formal Brexit negotiations in January or February next year, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday, citing a recent talk with May.

The prime minister herself has ruled out giving formal notification this year of Britain's intention to leave the European Union under Article 50 of the EU treaty.

But beyond that, she has been vague about when her government might trigger the process, which would set in motion a two-year countdown to Britain's exit.

"Prime Minister May was very open and honest with me," Tusk said of his visit to London on Sept. 8.

"She declared it's almost impossible to trigger Article 50 this year but it's quite likely that they will be ready maybe in January, maybe in February next year."

The remarks in English by the former Polish premier left open whether May had indicated she would launch the process then or would simply be in a position to do so, having secured agreement in her cabinet on what Britain wants to achieve and having set up the negotiating teams London will need to deal with Brussels.

Tusk said the other 27 EU leaders, whose summit he chaired on Friday in Bratislava to plot a course ahead for the bloc after the shock of Britain's June referendum to quit were being patient for now: "Our British colleagues need more time to prepare themselves for these negotiations," he told reporters.

"We are well prepared for these negotiations and we could in fact start these procedures even tomorrow," he added, saying that the EU's goal was "the closest possible future relations" with Britain while negotiating in the interests of the bloc.

Senior officials in Brussels and national capitals say they are very anxious that Britain complete its divorce by mid-2019. Failure to hit that deadline would complicate elections to the European Parliament and the appointment of a new EU executive, the Commission, that year as well as hobble negotiations on a new seven-year EU budget.

However, Britain is wary of triggering Article 50 because this could weaken its leverage. It would then be at the mercy of an extremely tight two-year timeline to negotiate the divorce, risking a loss of preferential access to its main export market.

Although the summit was called in the wake of the June 23 vote in Britain, the forthcoming negotiations with London were "not a major topic" for the leaders in Bratislava, Tusk said.

EU leaders are waiting to hear from May on what she wants and Tusk repeated the mantra that there could be "no negotiations before notification".

Some governments, notably among London's traditional northern allies appear more willing to offer May some guidance on what new relations they might accept before she triggers Article 50, whereas France and others are reluctant to engage until Britain commits itself to a deadline.

The government in Paris, facing elections next spring in which the anti-EU National Front is leading in opinion polls, does not want to given voters the impression that leaving the bloc might be beneficial.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the same news conference that Britain could not achieve full access to the EU market that it would ideally like if it closed off free immigration for EU citizens: "I cannot see any possibility of compromising on that very issue," he said.

Summit host Robert Fico, the Slovak prime minister, also underlined that he and other east European leaders whose citizens make up much of the EU immigrant population in Britain would not let those people become "second class citizens". (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; @macdonaldrtr; Editing by Noah Barkin)</s>EU chief says start of Brexit talks "likely" early next year

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — European Union President Donald Tusk is predicting that Britain will trigger the start of its exit negotiations from the bloc early next year.

Tusk said following an EU summit held without Britain that he had met recently with British Prime Minister Theresa May, who told him it was not going to happen as soon as many EU leaders had hoped after the June 23 referendum to leave the EU.

Tusk said Friday that "she declared that it is almost impossible to trigger Article 50 this year," referring to the rule that covers exit negotiations. "But it is quite likely that they will ready maybe in January, maybe in February next year."

The 27 other EU leaders started talks on Friday on how to revamp the EU.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk states that the UK could begin its formal process of withdrawing from the European Union early next year, after a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May last week.