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Theresa May

COGwriter

United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May announced today that she intends to trigger Article 50 in late March 2017 for the UK to formally begin negotiations for its exit from the European Union (commonly called a Brexit, meaning BRitish EXIT):

2 October 2016

Theresa May will formally begin the Brexit process by the end of March 2017, she has told the BBC.

The PM’s announcement on triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – which begins the formal negotiation process – means the UK looks set to leave the EU by the summer of 2019.

Mrs May also promised a bill to remove the European Communities Act 1972 from the statute book.

She said this would make the UK an “independent, sovereign nation”.

The repeal of the 1972 Act will not take effect until the UK leaves the EU under Article 50.

It will be contained in a “Great Repeal Bill”, promised in the next Queen’s Speech, which will also enshrine all existing EU law into British law.

This will allow the government to seek to keep, amend or cancel any legislation once Brexit has been completed. The repeal bill will also end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37532364

2 October 2016

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, May said: “As you know, I have been saying that we wouldn’t trigger it before the end of this year so that we get some preparation in place.”

“But yes, I will be saying in my speech today that we will trigger Article 50 before the end of March next year.”

The prime minister will further outline her plans for Britain’s divorce from the European Union in her keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham later on Sunday.

Earlier, in a front-page story in “The Sunday Times” under the headline “May fires starting gun,” May announced her plans to make Britain “a sovereign and independent country” by repealing the act that brought the United Kingdom into the European Union.

“We will introduce, in the next Queen’s Speech, a Great Repeal Bill that will remove the European Communities Act from the statute book,” said May. …  Britain voted to leave the European Union on June 23 in a national referendum. http://www.dw.com/en/theresa-may-uk-to-trigger-article-50-by-end-of-march-2017/a-35942081

October 2, 2016

Before Sunday’s announcement, May had only said Britain would not trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty before the end of the year. Article 50 is the treaty clause that would start a two-year countdown for Britain’s formal exit.

In the run-up to Britain’s referendum on whether to remain in the European Union, opponents of Brexit warned that leaving the bloc would lead to economic peril, but the country’s economy appears to have performed strongly since the vote, undermining predictions of gloom and doom.

Some leading Brexiters had called for a quick, sharp break with the EU – or a “hard Brexit,” pointing to the buoyant stock market and strong figures for jobs and retail sales as evidence the government should not delay invoking Article 50.

Among them, former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, had said Article 50 should be invoked before Christmas, despite May repeatedly saying otherwise. Smith recently blasted the current state of the EU, saying the bloc is in a “complete mess.”

Other leading Brexiters have recently formed a new pressure group called Change Britain, which aims, according to the organizers, to help “deliver the UK’s referendum result in the most effective way.”

Some Brexiters want a total break; others – along with many in the Remain camp — hope Britain can negotiate a deal along the lines of Norway and remain a member of the Single Market, enjoying free trade with EU members. http://www.voanews.com/a/pm-may-brexit-process-to-start-by-end-of-next-march/3533506.html

While some in the UK consider that the European Union is a “complete mess,” the Bible says that there will be problems in the final European Beast power (Daniel 2:41-43), but that it will reorganize (Revelation 17:12-13) and become a military power (Revelation 13:4; Daniel 11:39-43).

Theresa May once earlier indicated that triggering Article 50 should be done in late 2016, then by the end of 2017. European Union leaders have been pressing for a sooner date. Theresa May and others in the UK seemingly have wanted to delay the triggering to give them more time to plan the departure as well as more time to actually transition out of the EU.

Waiting until late March 2017 will also give the British government a chance to establish some type of relationship with the next US Executive Branch. The UK will want to know how it will work with the USA when it is negotiating with the EU.

So what is Article 50?

It is part of the Lisbon Treaty that went into effect in late 2009. The Lisbon Treaty essentially was the groundwork to work towards a more united European Union. And about 52% of voters in the UK decided on June 23, 2016 that the amount of unity , the price, and the benefits were no longer in the their best interest.

Here are articles 49 and 50 from the Treaty of Lisbon:

49 Any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union. The European Parliament and national Parliaments shall be notified of this application. The applicant State shall address its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the assent of the European Parliament, which shall act by an absolute majority of its component members. The conditions of admission and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the Union is founded, which such admission entails, shall be the subject of an agreement between the Member States and the applicant State. This agreement shall be submitted for ratification by all the contracting States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. The conditions of eligibility agreed upon by the European Council shall be taken into account. http://www.lisbon-treaty.org/wcm/the-lisbon-treaty/treaty-on-european-union-and-comments/title-6-final-provisions/136-article-49.html

50 1. Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.

2. A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention. In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union. That agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with Article 218(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It shall be concluded on behalf of the Union by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament.

3. The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period.

4. For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3, the member of the European Council or of the Council representing the withdrawing Member State shall not participate in the discussions of the European Council or Council or in decisions concerning it.

A qualified majority shall be defined in accordance with Article 238(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

5. If a State which has withdrawn from the Union asks to rejoin, its request shall be subject to the procedure referred to in Article 49. http://www.lisbon-treaty.org/wcm/the-lisbon-treaty/treaty-on-european-union-and-comments/title-6-final-provisions/137-article-50.html

It is provision 3 of article 50 that specifies that the transition from the time of departure from notification is two years. That is actually not a lot of time considering the complicated nature of the EU and trade agreements.

As I have stated in the past, it is very likely that the departure of the UK from the EU will move the UK closer to the USA on more trade matters. I also believe that one-day it will come back to haunt the UK. The EU leadership is not pleased that the UK will be leaving the EU. One-day, sadly, it will seek and gain revenge (Daniel 8:24; 11:39).

While interim years will vary, this will not turn out well for the UK, nor ultimately the USA (see also Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves?).

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 2nd, 2016 at 7:15 am and is filed under Prophecy.

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